SINGAPORE – A 34-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years’ jail and 14 strokes of the cane on Dec 5 for raping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he met on a mobile chat app.
The sexual acts took place on April 18, 2022, at a secluded open space in the vicinity of Vanda Link, near Sixth Avenue MRT station.
The offender, Mookkapillai Pazhanivel, an Indian national, was earlier found guilty of one count each of statutory rape and sexual assault by penetration following a trial that began in April.
In sentencing arguments on Dec 5, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jiang Ke-Yue highlighted Mookkapillai’s actions throughout the proceedings, which show “an utter lack of remorse”.
During his trial, Mookkapillai declared that he would go on a hunger strike until a lawyer was appointed for him.
Describing this as “nothing more than a stunt” to obstruct the trial, the DPP noted that before the trial started, Mookkapillai had chosen to remain unrepresented after legal aid was withdrawn.
Mookkapillai also engaged in victim-blaming and made baseless allegations that he had been treated roughly by police officers.
On Oct 29, after he was convicted, Mookkapillai slumped over in his chair and refused to respond when asked for his position on nine other charges which had been stood down.
After the court session resumed, he demanded: “Why should I admit?”
Responding to the DPP’s submissions, Mookkapillai said through an interpreter that he did not want to admit to the charges because he did not commit those offences.
