Even in a country as safe as Singapore, it is advisable to always be careful, even around people that you know.
This crime happened more than 5 years ago, 26 Jan 2014, at the now torn down Duxton Hotel at Tanjong Pagar. Five young men assaulted the girl in one of the man’s birthday party.
Two men got her unconscious drunk before inviting the three others
On 25 Jan 2014, Muhammad Fadly Abdull Wahab, then 18, repeated persuaded the victim to go to a friend’s party at Duxton Hotel. They knew each other at a club a few months back. Though the victim didn’t know anyone else at the party, she agreed to go on the condition that her male friend can join as well.
The assault was planned, as Fadly had told Muhammad Hazly Mohamad Halimi, his accomplice, over Whatsapp that he wanted to get the victim drunk. Hazly also told Fadly, “If you want to (get her) drunk, buy one more ah.”
The victim and her friend reached around midnight on 26 Jan 2014, when they had introductions at the party. Fadly poured drinks for the victim, and she drank 6 glasses of hard liquor until she was tipsy.
She tried to refuse more, but Fadly reassured that he would look after her. She started vomiting after the seventh glass.
Around 1:15 am, Fadly and Hazly were left to care for the victim, with the rest going to Zouk.
They cleaned up the vomit before moving her to the bed. As she was unconscious, they took a photograph of themselves smiling with the victim in a half-dressed state, which they then sent to the other 3 with the message “U miss the fun man!”
More examples of their text exchange could be found on Today.
The 2 then raped the victim. The other three, Ridhaudin Ridhwan Bakri, Muhammad Faris Ramlee and Asep Ardiansyah, who were then 20, returned to the hotel room around 3:45 am and continued the crime.
The victim doesn’t remember much
The victim regained consciousness a few hours later, but she couldn’t remember much, except shaking her head when Ridhaudin raped her.
She ended up urinating blood and suffered pain in her private parts lasted for almost 10 hours.
She tried to find out what happened, but she discovered that her text messages with Fadly were deleted, and he had blocked her on Instagram and Twitter.
A police report was lodged only 2 days after the crime, as she was embarrassed to divulge details of the crime to authorities.
As she was mostly unconscious, she would only understand the full extent of the crime when the investigation was done.
In the trial, she testified in a statement, “Even time cannot heal my pain… I have lost my dignity and despite trying to forget what I went through in the hotel, I just cannot pick up the pieces and move on. I still think about it every single day.”
She also testified that she considered suicide after the rape, and a psychiatrist said she continued to have flashbacks of the incident more than two years after.
Jail sentences
Muhammad Fadly Abdull Wahab was sentenced to 13 years jail and eight strokes of the cane in 2016.
Muhammad Hazly Mohamad Halimi was jailed for 11 years and given six strokes of the cane, also in 2016.
The other 3 were sentenced in 2019.
Ridhwan was handed 13 years, 1 month and 13 days’ jail and 13 strokes of the cane.
There were also other considerations in the sentencing, such as 2 charges of rioting and being a member of an unlawful assembly, which were committed while he was being investigated for the rape.
Faris was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months and 18 days’ jail and six strokes. Asep received nine years, 11 months and 28 days’ jail and eight strokes.
It is never too safe to be careful
If someone steals my car, it is absolutely their fault, but I should still have chosen to lock my car doors.
Studies have shown that criminals look for victims that indicate a passive or inattentive trait, rather than one who fit a particular demographic or appearance. An article by Protective Strategies summarises this pretty well.
It might also be useful to know that attire is not the main factor in how a criminal selects his/her target. Here’s a study that was done on provocative dressing and sexual harassment.
Don’t take safety for granted.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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