Noticing two women were "very drunk" at a drinking place, two Singaporean men decided to follow them when they left — all the way to a bus stop and once even waited for them outside a restroom without their knowledge.

When they saw several taxi and private hire vehicle drivers refusing to pick the women up because of their drunken condition, the duo offered the women a ride home.

The women agreed after some cajoling.

One of the women was sexually assaulted by the men at her home.

Stalked

According to a judgment dated Mar. 18, 2024, one of the men was 35-year-old Singaporean Lee Kit.

At 10:45pm that night, Lee met up with his friend "to chill".

His friend was labelled as a co-perpetrator but was not named in the judgment.

Their hangout took a dark turn when his friend told him that he wanted to approach two "very drunk" women in a shop — the victim and her friend.

The two men tailed the women when they left the shop.

They followed the women to the bus stop and witnessed their unsuccessful attempts to hail a taxi or book a private hire car.

Several drivers refused to pick the women up because they were drunk.

The men made their move around 11:22pm. They convinced the women to take their car to the victim's home.

Both women vomited during the car ride.

Sexually assaulted while unconscious

Upon reaching the victim's apartment at 11:51pm, the men placed the women side-by-side on the bed.

Lee headed into the toilet to relieve himself and wash his hands.

He said that when he emerged from the bathroom, he claimed he saw his friend holding the victim's legs in the air and sexually assaulting her while she was "passing in and out of consciousness".

The victim's friend was lying next to them and seemed unconscious.

Lee claimed that his friend beckoned for him to join in, which Lee did, using his fingers to sexually assault the victim for several seconds.

He heard the victim groaning "no" while he touched her.

Found handphone

At around 12:11am on Jan. 31, the men left the premises.

They drove off while making callous and lewd comments about the victim.

It took a while before Lee's friend realised he had dropped his handphone in the victim's apartment.

Fearing they would be identified, the men returned to the apartment to try and retrieve the handphone.

They were unsuccessful, as the victim had already called the police.

The men were subsequently arrested on-site.

Says friend is the chief antagonist

According to the judgment, Lee pleaded guilty to molesting the victim.

The prosecution asked for a maximum of 24 months imprisonment for the charge and four strokes of the cane, stating that "almost every" aggravating factor that warrants a harsher sentence, such as being "highly premeditated," was found in the case.

The defence, however, asked for an 18-month jail term for Lee, arguing that his friend was the "chief antagonist" while he merely "followed along".

They also argued that by pleading guilty first, Lee would have helped "secure a conviction" or "encourage" his friend to plead guilty.

Offence grave and heinous: Judge

In his decision, the district judge described the case as "grave and heinous".

He explained that the offence was serious as not only was the degree of sexual exploitation high, but it was also committed while the victim was in a vulnerable state — not only was she drunk, but the duo made use of her circumstances for not being able to find transport home.

The judge highlighted that it was a group assault in the victim's own home, and it had caused significant trauma to her, affecting both her personal life and work.

On the defence lawyers' arguments, the judge said that while it was inconclusive whether Lee had premeditated the offence, it was apparent that he merely played a "passive role" or that the offence was committed in a "fleeting moment of folly".

He also said it was speculative whether Lee's friend would be convicted or plead guilty because of Lee's guilty plea.

However, the judge noted that even though Lee had his charge reduced to a molestation charge from a sexual assault charge, which attracted a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, by the prosecution on account of his guilty plea, it does not mean that he should not be getting a reduced sentence for pleading guilty early.

The judge also agreed with the defence that Lee was remorseful, willing to apologise to the victim and had extended his fullest cooperation to the police.

The judge sentenced Lee to 20 months in jail and four strokes of the cane, noting that while his actions fell within the most serious types of cases brought under a molestation charge and should have received the maximum penalty, there were mitigating factors that warranted a reduction in sentence.

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