SINGAPORE: A married man sexually assaulted his long-time female friend after a night of drinks at his place, despite her protests and struggling.
Tan Boon Seng, a 40-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced on Monday (Mar 16) to eight years’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault and aggravated outrage of modesty, with three other charges including attempted rape taken into consideration.
Tan had been friends with the victim since around 2010 or 2011. They were acquainted through mutual friends and used to be neighbours.
In June 2024, the victim was 30 when she asked Tan if he wanted to meet.
They met at Punggol MRT station on Jun 29, 2024. They bought four bottles of soju and went to Tan’s flat in Punggol, which was being renovated while he stayed elsewhere.
When the pair got to the flat, they went into one of the bedrooms and sat down on a blanket that was on the floor. They had dinner and four bottles of soju.
Sometime past midnight, the pair left the flat to buy six more bottles of soju from a nearby shop. They went back and drank the soju, during which the victim asked if she could stay over since she did not want to take a private-hire car home.
Tan agreed. At about 3am on Jun 30, 2024, the victim felt sleepy and lay down on a blanket. Tan lay next to her and tried to hug her, but the woman pushed his arm away at least twice and told him to move further away.
Tan did as he was told. However, the victim had difficulty falling asleep due to Tan’s loud snoring.
