\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 A man who got acquainted with a woman through work met her for dinner, drove her home after she became drunk, and raped her on her bed. <\/p>\n
On March 20, Jasper Lee Loong Kuan, now 37, was sentenced to 14\u00bd years\u2019 jail and 12 strokes of the cane for a charge of rape.<\/p>\n
Lee, who is the managing director of his company, denied raping the woman. He was found guilty on Feb 10 following a trial.<\/p>\n
The prosecution had argued that the woman lacked the capacity to consent to sex at the time due to alcohol intoxication, and even if she had the capacity to consent to sex, she did not in fact give consent.<\/p>\n
Lee, who was represented by Mr Gregory Fong, claimed that they had engaged in consensual sex, or that he mistakenly believed that the woman had consented to sex. <\/p>\n
His claims were rejected by High Court judge Mavis Chionh, who found that the victim was in a state of near-unconsciousness at the time and clearly lacked the capacity to consent to sex.<\/p>\n
In convicting Lee on Feb 10, Justice Chionh found the woman to be an honest witness whose account of events was internally consistent and externally consistent with corroborative evidence.<\/p>\n
The evidence included medical evidence and body-worn camera footage of first responders, which showed the victim in a state of extreme emotional distress as she told police officers that she had been raped.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the judge found Lee to be \u201ca disingenuous and shifty witness prone to invention\u201d, whose evidence failed to raise a reasonable doubt on the prosecution\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
For example, Lee tried to avoid answering questions about whether the woman was able to walk in a stable manner until he was confronted with CCTV footage which showed her stumbling at the void deck. <\/p>\n
Lee was a client of the company where the victim was a customer service officer. <\/p>\n
The two happened to share the same birthday, and agreed to celebrate their birthdays with dinner at a restaurant at VivoCity shopping mall on Sept 15, 2021. It was the first time they met in person.<\/p>\n
They each had a glass of red wine as there was a one-for-one promotion for happy hour. Lee then ordered two more bottles of red wine, which they finished together.<\/p>\n
As the woman was feeling quite drunk, she told Lee that she wanted to go home, and he offered to send her home.<\/p>\n
CCTV footage from the restaurant and the mall showed that she displayed symptoms of alcohol intoxication, including disorientation and an unsteady gait. <\/p>\n
The footage showed Lee guiding her from the restaurant to the toilet, and from the toilet to the carpark.<\/p>\n
Audio captured on the dashcam of Lee\u2019s car showed that the woman continued to display symptoms of alcohol intoxication, including vomiting and slurring, during the journey.<\/p>\n
After he parked near the victim\u2019s block of flats, Lee accompanied her to her flat.<\/p>\n
Footage showed that she was unsteady on her feet and had to be physically supported by Lee as they took the lift at about 9.25pm.<\/p>\n
The victim testified that she was drifting in and out of consciousness on her bed, and when she came to at one point, she realised that she was naked and Lee was on top of her.<\/p>\n
She tried to push him away but was too weak to do so, and fell unconscious again. <\/p>\n
Lee left the victim\u2019s flat at about 9.50pm according to video footage. <\/p>\n
Around the same time, she called the police and also sent a message to Lee, saying: \u201cYou are too much.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police officers responding to the call found her naked and crouched behind the door when they arrived. <\/p>\n
The woman was examined at the KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital in the early hours the next day. <\/p>\n
Tests later found Lee\u2019s semen on swabs taken from her body. <\/p>\n
A sample of her blood was found to contain 82mg of ethanol per 100ml. <\/p>\n
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that the victim\u2019s estimated blood alcohol concentration would have been close to 200mg per 100ml of blood when she arrived home. <\/p>\n
The maximum legal limit for driving is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.<\/p>\n
Dr Charles Mak from the Institute of Mental Health also gave expert evidence that the woman\u2019s state of alcohol intoxication rendered her incapable of consenting to sex. <\/p>\n
Lee indicated that he would be filing an appeal, and was granted bail of $100,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n