SINGAPORE: Two friends had been on Thursday (Aug 25) sentenced to jail and caning for assaulting a man at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery over the rape allegation.
Andre Chen Si’en, 31, and Gervan Wong Jun Heng, 26, attacked the victim along with various weapons at the secluded cemetery within the early hours from the morning.
They then made the victim crawl to their vehicle before dropping your pet off near his home, where he still left a blood path getting up to his apartment.
Both men pleaded accountable to a charge all of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.
Additionally , Chen admitted to voluntarily causing grievous hurt in one more incident and having methamphetamine. Seven various other charges were considered for sentencing.
He was sentenced to eight years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane.
Wong accepted to 13 some other charges of voluntarily causing hurt, eating drugs and traveling offences. Twenty more charges were regarded as for sentencing.
He was sentenced to seven years, three months and sixteen weeks in jail, and six strokes of the cane. He or she was also fined S$2, 400 and banned from driving for two years.
Wong was also ordered to compensate the victim a lot more than S$1, 000 in medical fees. Chen previously made voluntary compensation.
RAPE ALLEGATION
The particular court heard how the 29-year-old victim and Chen were buddies who had known one another for many years.
Within the morning of May 9, 2020, Chen received messages from his wife and her friend alleging that the victim acquired raped his wife the night before.
Chen was in Wong’s house when he or she got the messages, and told your pet about the allegation. Wong agreed to accompany Chen to settle the issue with all the victim.
Later on that night, Chen called the victim to drinks. The target agreed, and Chen offered to pick your pet up from their place.
Prior to leaving, Chen requested Wong for weaponry. Chen armed themself with a knuckleduster plus flick knife, whilst Wong chose a metallic baton.
During the journey to the victim’s house, both men discussed bringing him to a secluded place where they would assault him if he admitted to raping Chen’s wife.
ASSAULT IN CEMETERY
At about 3am on May ten, 2020, Chen plus Wong brought the particular victim to the cemetery, where Chen inquired him about the rape allegation.
Chen became incensed with what he felt had been “half-hearted replies” from the victim, court documents stated.
He hit the back of the victim’s head with the knuckleduster, which had 2 sharp horns. A single horn tore the chunk of skin from the victim’s head.
The sufferer tried to flee, yet Chen caught up along with him. He continued hitting the victim’s mind and body, plus stabbed his hip and legs with the knife.
Wong joined along with the baton, and the two friends had taken turns attacking the particular victim. Chen also took the victim’s mobile phone and broke it against the tombstone.
Both men stopped when they became too tired to continue, after which the particular victim begged all of them for some water.
Wong took water from the car plus sprayed it in the victim’s face instead. Chen then purchased him to get back to the car, and so they drove to the victim’s place.
About 5. 30am, Chen and Wong remaining the victim near his apartment prevent. His mother found him at the front door of their home plus called emergency solutions.
The target suffered a head injury, fractures with his arm plus foot, stab injuries, lacerations and bruising. He was hospitalised for two days.
He also experienced post-traumatic stress problem and sought therapy at the Institute of Mental Health. Their medical bills amounted to more than S$2, 000.
Chen and Wong were arrested on May 10, 2020, plus both tested positive for drugs. Chen admitted to taking methamphetamine while Wong admitted to taking ketamine the previous night time.
“NO AREA FOR VIGILANTE JUSTICE”
Chen’s defence counsel Kalidass Murugaiyan highlighted the rape allegation as an extenuating factor for the court to consider.
He or she claimed that when Chen and Wong met the victim, the particular victim said things that seemed to confirm he previously “not been a great person”, which activated the attack.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Huo Jiongrui said that the provocation had to come from the particular victim in order to be regarded a mitigating aspect.
In this case, the particular rape claims by Chen’s wife and her friend had been better described as “indirect incitement to commit the offence”, this individual said.
The prosecutor noted that this women did not request Chen and Wong to hurt the victim.
Mr Kalidass also declared that his client demonstrated remorse immediately after the attack, and helped the victim in order to “wash his wounds”.
But Mister Huo said this was too charitable a description of bringing out water in the victim’s face, which was a “spiteful act” targeted at humiliating him.
He argued the fact that attack was premeditated, that Chen plus Wong outnumbered the particular victim and that they caught him off-guard simply by suddenly attacking him from behind.
The assault had been “vicious and needlessly prolonged” and the sufferer was treated cruelly even after the strike ended, said the particular prosecutor.
Mister Huo also pointed out that both Chen and Wong had been on bail if they carried out the attack.
Chen was on bail meant for assaulting a stranger in a lift with Ming Arcade in April 2019, whilst Wong, represented simply by lawyer Teo Choo Kee, was upon bail for medication consumption.
Both men were recalcitrant offenders who experienced previously committed a number of serious offences, said the prosecutor. Pertaining to Chen, this incorporated past violence-related convictions.
District Assess Eddy Tham stated that while the rape claims was serious, it had been unproven.
“There is no room regarding vigilante justice here, ” he stated, adding that the strike on the victim had been clearly vindictive.
By luring the victim out to the deserted place and arming themselves, Chen and Wong showed their intent to instill brutal injuries on the man, said the judge.