Father testifies in daughter's rape trial
The accused 'lied to save his skin'
A 57-year-old father of three, whose only daughter was found unconscious in a man's home wearing his clothes, yesterday recounted how he tried to find out what happened to her.
He used his mobile phone to record two conversations with the man, Ong Soon Heng, who was then 37, which he later submitted to the police.
In the first, hours after his daughter was found, Ong insisted nothing had happened between him and the 22-year-old woman.
But in the second, two days later, Ong admitted he had sex with her but claimed it was consensual.
Testifying on Day 2 of Ong's trial yesterday, the father broke down in court because he had to tell the news to his family, including his daughter, that she had been raped.
"She was totally stunned because she could not remember anything," he said.
He recounted how the family members cried. "Do you know how much hurt you created for all of us?" he said angrily as he looked at Ong, who was in the dock.
Ong, who also goes by the name Osh, is on trial for one charge each of rape and abduction.
He knew the alleged victim; she was an intern at a food and beverage company and he was a friend of her employers.
The prosecution's case is that after he plied the woman with drinks while they were clubbing on July 24, 2014, Ong carried her into the back seat of his car at about 4am, and drove her to his house at Hume Heights.
The woman's boyfriend found her at about 6.30am after he tracked her to Ong's house using the Find My iPhone app.
The father told the court that when the boyfriend took her home, his daughter had to be supported and the first thing she said was, "Where am I?".
Suspecting she had been drugged, he told his wife to take her to KK Women's and Children's Hospital for a blood test.
Together with his older son and the boyfriend, he went to Ong's house. Ong denied any wrongdoing.
He said the woman drank "Martell, champagne and vodka" and that he changed her clothes because she had thrown up. He said he treated her as a good friend and little sister.
At the hospital, doctors advised the victim's family to make a police report.
Back at home, the father contacted his daughter's employer, who told him Ong was a "playboy".
The father said he told the employer to tell Ong to see him.
Two days later, Ong texted him to meet up.
During their conversation, Ong claimed it was the woman who suggested going to his place.
In court yesterday, the father accused Ong of lying to save his skin.
In contrast, he sang praises of the boyfriend, who had searched for his daughter for hours, for being a "gentleman" and for saying he would remain with her.
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