Father of convicted rapist found dead before sentencing won't have $80k bail forfeited, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

Father of convicted rapist found dead before sentencing won't have $80k bail forfeited

This article is more than 12 months old

The father of a convicted rapist who was found dead at the foot of a 40-storey block of flats before his sentencing will not have to forfeit any part of the $80,000 bail he had posted for his son.

On Monday (Feb 14), the High Court heard that the prosecution was not asking for bail to be forfeited in view of the circumstances.

Wong Zhun Siong, 27, was found dead at about 7am on Feb 3, more than two hours before he was due to be sentenced for raping a drunk teenager and molesting a woman in separate incidents.

All parties in court, including Wong's father, were unaware that he had earlier been found dead.

Mr Wong Lit Wai, 56, told Justice Mavis Chionh that his son was not at home when he woke up and could be not reached on his phone.

The judge then issued a warrant for Wong's arrest and fixed a show cause hearing for his father to explain why bail should not be forfeited.

It was only later that day that the parties found out about the death.

In court on Monday, Mr Wong Lit Wai appeared sombre as Justice Chionh told him that the prosecution was not submitting for forfeiture of any part of the bail.

"I consider that cause is shown and there is to be no forfeiture of the bail bond," said the judge.

Mr Wong Lit Wai asked about a laptop and some notes that were seized by the police after his son's death.

Justice Chionh explained that the items were taken for the coroner's inquiry into his son's death, which will be held at the State Courts.

The judge also granted an order for all criminal charges against Wong to be abated.

Wong was convicted last year of raping an 18-year-old woman, who was drunk, when he took her back to his home in March 2019 after approaching her in Clarke Quay.

In the course of investigations, the police discovered that Wong had an encounter in April 2018 with another victim, a 27-year-old woman.

In that case, he took the woman, who was drunk, to a handicap toilet, where he partially pulled down her pants and took photographs.

He was originally charged with attempted rape, but Justice Chionh found that his acts were not sufficient to establish the charge.

Wong was instead convicted of molesting the woman.

He also faced another 10 charges, two of which were for taking photos of the two women in a state of undress.

The other charges included theft of mobile phones and misappropriation of wallets from other victims in the Clarke Quay area, as well as fraudulent possession of mobile phones and identification cards.

COURT & CRIMEBAIL