About two years ago, a Bangladeshi man allegedly abducted and raped a female hiker at MacRitchie Reservoir Park — in broad daylight. The construction worker, 24-year-old Pramanik Liton, is now on trial for threatening the woman at knifepoint and raping her twice in a forested area.
The man denied the charges on Tuesday (May 16) at the opening of his trial, where he faces four counts, including two for aggravated rape, one for sexual assault and one for abduction for illicit intercourse. In court, Liton, who did not have any representation, said he didn’t want a lawyer.
It was on Feb 8, 2015, that the victim was approached by Liton at the Lornie Trail. The 40-year-old Chinese national had been hiking alone when Liton confronted her for sex. After she said no, he pushed his knife against her throat, covered her mouth, and forced her away from the trail into a secluded area. Liton reportedly raped the victim twice at knifepoint and coerced her into performing other sexual acts.
According to Channel NewsAsia, the incident lasted from 1.45pm to 3.37pm, after which Liton tossed the knife in the bushes and left the scene.
The victim called her then-boyfriend, who met her at the Mushroom Cafe by the park’s entrance and went with her to file a police report. Trackers from the Gurkha contingent scoured the forest and located the secluded area around 9.30pm that day — the soldier who found the crime scene stated that the ground was flattened in certain spots and tissues were scattered. Those tissues tested positive for Liton’s semen.
The next day, the knife in question was found, and a fingerprint from its blade matched Liton’s. On Feb 10, he was arrested at his construction site workplace.
Other evidence included blood samples taken from both parties, Liton’s semen found on the victim’s underwear and on swabs taken from her mouth and genitals, as well as his DNA on her blouse, and her DNA on the knife.
If he’s convicted of aggravated rape, he will face at least eight years in jail and a minimum of 12 cane strokes per charge.
