Jail, caning for man who violated sleeping woman in car

A man insisted on following a woman home in a private-hire car after they had drinks and violated her when she fell asleep.

During the journey, Muhammad Syafiq Danial Abdullah unzipped his trousers and forced himself on her.

When the 37-year-old woman woke up a while later, she found herself lying face down on the man’s lap.

On Sept 26, Syafiq, who is now 26 years old, was sentenced to six years and eight months’ jail and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a charge of rape.

The definition of rape in the Penal Code was expanded in 2020 to include oral and anal penetration without consent.

Another charge, for molesting the woman in the car, was taken into consideration in sentencing.

Syafiq, who worked as a commercial diver at the time, met the victim for the first time on the evening of Sept 24, 2022, at a band performance.

They had separately gone to a restaurant in Upper Circular Road to support their friends, who were members of the same band.

After the performance, the woman met Syafiq when she joined her friend at his table.

The group later made their way to a bar in River Valley Road, where they continued drinking.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ryan Lim told the court that Syafiq remained close to the woman and kept topping up her glass.

At about 3am on Sept 25, 2022, the woman decided to go home and booked a car on ride-hailing app Grab.

Syafiq insisted on following her, saying that he wanted to ensure that she got home safe.

In the car, after she woke up to find herself being violated, the woman turned her head away and tried to push herself up, but Syafiq held her down and kept trying to violate her.

She eventually managed to free herself and sat upright, away from him.

It was not mentioned in court if the Grab driver was aware of what was happening.

When the car arrived at the woman’s home, Syafiq followed her to the front door with his trousers still unzipped.

He begged her to let him in, saying, “one time, one time”.

The woman eventually managed to enter her home and slammed the door on him. 

She made a police report later that day.

Syafiq was arrested on Sept 26, 2022, and released on bail. He has been remanded in custody since May 31, 2024, after his bail was revoked.

In court, the prosecution sought a sentence of seven to eight years’ jail with six strokes of the cane.

The DPP said this was a case where the accused had taken advantage of an unconscious victim and persisted in his attempts to violate her even after she woke up.

The prosecutor also pointed to the psychological harm caused.

The woman said in her victim impact statement that she bore feelings of anger and helplessness over the degrading incident, which has affected her ability to trust men and form relationships with them.

Defence counsel S.S. Dhillon asked for five years’ jail and six strokes of the cane, saying that his client was remorseful and that his wife had given birth a month ago.

Mr Dhillon also argued that the existing sentencing framework for rape should not apply to his client, as oral penetration was a less severe form of rape. The framework was set down in 2017, before the legal definition of rape was expanded.

But the DPP countered that the same sentencing framework should apply.

When the law was amended to include oral penetration as rape, Parliament recognised that such grave and intrusive acts warrant the label, and ought to be punished as such, he said.