Father of three gets 9 years’ jail, caning for rape
iStock file photo.
SINGAPORE — A 30-year-old who raped a woman he met for the first time at a New Year’s Eve party was on Monday (Oct 17) sentenced to nine years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
Muhammad Farhan Mohamed Buan, who worked as a mover, pleaded guilty to one count of raping and one count of insulting the modesty of the 30-year-old victim. Another charge of digital penetration was taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that on Dec 31, 2014, Farhan and the victim were introduced to each other at the party held in D’Kranji Farm Resort and organised by the woman’s cousin.
Farhan was there with his wife and three children on the invitation of the cousin’s friend.
He later struck up a conversation with the victim outside the chalet, where she was resting as the party was winding down at about 5.45am.
Farhan asked to have sex with her, but was rejected. When she asked him for money to take a taxi home, he kissed her forcibly on the lips. As she pushed him away and told him to leave her alone, he pulled down his pants and exposed himself.
Insulted by his behaviour, she scolded him and decided to leave. Farhan then offered her S$10 to take a taxi home and he walked out with her to wait for one.
As they were going past a forested area, Farhan stopped and said that he heard voices coming from the nearby bushes and suggested that they take a look.
When she refused, he grabbed and pulled her towards the dense foliage. He also carried her and jumped across a drain before throwing her onto a grass patch.
Terrified, she tried to put him off by claiming that she had AIDS, but Farhan disregarded her and raped her.
After the assault, he gave her another S$15, told her not to tell anyone about what happened, and walked back to the chalet.
The victim flagged a taxi along the road and later spoke about the incident to the driver, who then alerted the police.
In pressing for a jail term of 10 to 12 years and six to 12 strokes of the cane, prosecutors said that the nature of Farhan’s offences were deliberate and egregious.
He preyed on an unsuspecting woman, persisted in his predatory acts, and even put her in a situation that could have resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.
His past records, including criminal trespassing, robbery and snatch theft, also showed his disturbing proclivity to commit increasingly serious offences, they said.
However, Farhan’s lawyer — who sought a seven-year jail term and six strokes of the cane — argued that her client chose to plead guilty at an early stage of the court processes and had been forthright, cooperative and honest about his role.
His sentence is backdated to Nov 25, 2015, the day he was remanded.
