Man on trial for raping wife, allegedly slapped her & threatened to stab her with metal rod

A man is on trial for raping his wife, in the first case of its kind since marital immunity was repealed in 2020.

Both are foreigners who would regularly commute to Singapore for work.

In court on Jan. 21, the prosecution alleged that the man sexually assaulted her without consent and threatened to stab her with a metal rod.

The man argued that the sexual acts were consensual.

Married but lived apart

The couple were married with children.

They would commute daily to work in Singapore from their home country.

However, they ended up living apart amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

From March 2020, the accused continued working in Singapore, but his wife was unable to do so.

She resumed work in Singapore in August 2020 and was provided with accommodation by her employer.

Between August 2020 and November 2020, they met up on two occasions to go to a hotel to engage in intimate acts.

Heated quarrel

On Nov. 8, 2020, the man asked to meet at the void deck of her flat as he wanted to pass her a gift.

But when she rejected it, they got into a heated quarrel.

The man snatched her handphone, and she removed her nuptial chain from her neck and threw it on the floor.

He then slapped and kicked her several times, said the prosecution.

Despite her misgivings, the woman acted on the advice of her supervisor and followed her husband to try to resolve the dispute amicably.

They rode on his motorcycle to the place where he lived.

At his residence, he allegedly locked the door and the roller shutters to prevent her from escaping.

He slapped her on the face. This caused her to fall and chip her tooth, and her mouth to bleed, said the prosecution.

Afterwards, the man allegedly showed his wife a video of an anal sex act, and told her she resembled the woman in the video.

He forcibly removed her shorts and underwear, picked up a metal rod, and allegedly threatened to stab her with it.

Fearful, the victim said she would do whatever he asked her to do.

He then raped and sexually assaulted her, the prosecution said.

Aftermath

The next day, the woman asked her flatmate to help her call the police.

She was conveyed to the A&E, where she told medical staff that she had been raped.

While the man admitted to hitting and threatening the woman, he said that their sexual acts were consensual.

But the prosecution argued that the sex acts took place after the physical assault and threats.

"At the material time, she was in fear of being hurt by the accused, she was injured and the roller shutters of the [redacted] were shut and she had no escape at that point in time."

"The accused cannot reasonably argue that he, in good faith, mistakenly believed that the victim consented to the acts in question."

During the trial, the prosecution will call 38 witnesses to prove its case.

The man faces a total of nine charges for aggravated rape, attempted aggravated rape, aggravated outrage of modesty, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, and possession of obscene films.

For rape, he could be jailed up to 20 years, and fined or caned.

For voluntarily causing hurt, he could be jailed up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For aggravated outrage of modesty, he could be jailed from two to ten years and caned.

For criminal intimidation, he could be jailed up to two years, fined, or both.

Under amendments to the Penal Code in 2020, as he is in an intimate relationship with the victim, he could receive up to twice the maximum punishment for his offences against his wife if found guilty.

Marital rape

In January 2020, marital immunity for rape was repealed.

This was to protect women from sexual abuse, and ensure that sexual relations are based on consent, said the authorities.

The first conviction for the rape of one's spouse took place in 2024, when a Singaporean man was convicted of sexually assaulting his wife.

Top image from Canva