Indian national Daler Singh was sentenced to four years and nine months’ jail and four strokes of the cane yesterday (Jul 11) for the attempted rape of a 29-year-old Indonesian tourist last year. The victim formerly worked as a maid in Singapore, and had met a friend of Singh by the name of Jagraj on Jan 24, 2016. It is believed that she went with him to Choa Chu Kang Park that evening around 8pm, where they met Jagraj’s group of friends. Singh, who is married with two sons, was also present.
Jagraj and the woman left the group twice and went to a secluded grass patch, where they had consensual sex. Singh, who glimpsed the victim partially dressed, wanted to have sex with her too, but she refused. Unfortunately, the second time the couple stole away, Jagraj rejoined his friends without the woman, and Singh approached her again for sex. She rejected him and tried to leave, but he undressed them both, pinned her to the ground, and unsuccessfully forced himself on her.
Ten minutes later, Singh abandoned his attempts on the tearful victim and fled the scene with his friends. The woman told a passer-by she had been raped, and he called the police at around 9:35pm.
After two days, Singh was arrested at his place of residence at Ama Keng Hostel.
Calling for a sentence of at least five years in jail and caning for Singh, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana said, “A clear signal needs to be sent … that a woman’s inalienable right to say ‘no’ will always be protected by the Courts, and any offender who seeks to trample upon that right will face harsh penal consequences.”
But Singh’s lawyer revealed that the victim lied in her police report when she claimed that Singh had sodomised her. She has since become uncontactable.
For attempted rape, Singh could have been caned and slapped with a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
