Man Who ‘Disappeared’ Before Court Hearing Found in a Hotel at Bencoolen; Planned to Flee to M’sia

If you have the courage to do something wrong, it’s only expected that you also have the courage to deal with the aftermath and atone for your sins, right?

You can run away from your problems like a coward, but they’ll always catch up to you eventually as this man learned.

Run, Devil, Run

On 22 March, Monday, a 21-year-old found himself running away from the clutches of the law, just a mere few hours before his court hearing.

The man, who cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identity of the victim, is being accused of sexually harassing and attempting to rape a 15-year-old girl at the time of the offence in October 2017.

The girl had been hanging out with a group of male youth at the void deck of a Pasir Ris HDB block, including the then 18-year-old accused and another man who raped her as well, and became intoxicated while playing a game of truth or dare.

Taking advantage of her state of semi-consciousness, the accused had attempted to rape her and forced her to perform oral sex on him when he couldn’t ‘get it up’. Meanwhile, his friend had raped her, all unbeknownst to their other friends.

He was identified by his bleached blonde hair and long-sleeved grey sweater on the day of the court hearing.

The accused had disappeared right before his court hearing and was found by police officers at the Bencoolen Strand hotel where his friend was staying a day later, the court heard from Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Winston Man.

Not wanting to face the consequences of his actions, he had also planned to flee to Malaysia.

It doesn’t bode you well to be a loyal friend all the time as well, for his friend Oh Swee Hong, 21, also got arrested for harbouring a criminal, an offence that could lead up to seven years in jail and a fine.

Oh’s case will continue in April when surveillance footage and witness statements become available. He was offered $20,000 bail and will be electronically tagged.

Lied That He Had “Stomach Problems”, Now Faces Worse

The accused had been having breakfast with his father and his lawyer, Mr Clarence Lun from law firm Fervent Chambers, at a building beside the Supreme Court before the trial.

Complaining of stomach problems, he excused himself to the toilet, but never returned after that.

Mr Lun said that his client wanted to run away to Malaysia by boat, and hadn’t been in contact with his taxi driver father ever since the disappearance.

A warrant of arrest was then called against the accused, who was dragged back to the High Court on 24 March, Wednesday.

Calling him a “flight risk” that had breached basic terms of his bail condition, DPP Man urged the court not to extend bail to the man any longer.

They are also contemplating another additional charge against him of attempting to pervert the course of justice, the prosecutor added. That’s what you get for a failed escape attempt.

“In respect of the fresh charges, we are disappointed to hear of the adverse turn of events and will await fresh charges and developments,” Mr Lun added, saying that he had no objection to the holding of his client in custody.

Another hearing was called to discuss the man’s $30,000 bail condition and whether or not it should be forfeited.

His father was also allowed to speak to him before he was taken into custody.

The accused now faces a total of seven charges, including two for sexual assault by penetration and one for attempted rape. In relation to other incidents, he will also be charged for theft, voluntarily causing hurt and dishonest misappropriation of property.

As for the friend of the accused who raped the same girl, he was sentenced to nine years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane last year after pleading guilty.

Moral of the story: running away from your wrongdoings will only get you into worse trouble, so it’s better to face up to them.

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