PhD student in S'pore who tried to rape ex-housemate after being rejected gets more than 6 years' jail & caning

A PhD student who attempted to rape his former housemate after she repeatedly rejected his advances was sentenced to six years, six months and six weeks in jail, as well as three strokes of the cane on Dec. 1.

According to The Straits Times, the student, 31-year-old Gao Xiong, is a Chinese national who was completing his PhD studies in Singapore at the time of the offences.

The school where he studied at was not named in court documents.

He pleaded guilty to four charges in court, which included attempted rape and criminal trespass.

Another three charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The victim cannot be named due to a gag order protecting her identity.

Was rejected by the victim repeatedly

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Gao and the victim, then 21, were housemates until Gao moved out in August 2023.

Two months after moving out, in October 2023, Gao began to pursue the victim romantically.

He texted and asked her out repeatedly, despite her rejecting him multiple times and asking him to stop bothering her.

He also went back to the unit on several occasions to look for her, and the continued harassment prompted the victim to stay with her friend for a few days.

Went back to the unit

On Oct. 8, 2023, Gao returned to the unit to look for her, despite being told not to do so by the tenancy agent.

However, the victim refused to engage him further and told him that she would call the police.

Both the victim and the tenancy agent, through whom Gao previously rented a room in the unit, later reported the trespass.

Though Gao left when the police arrived, he lingered at a nearby bus stop.

He continued to text the victim, telling her that he was waiting for her there.

He also tried to call her, and the harassment continued until the early hours of the next day.

As a result, the victim decided to take urgent leave from work the next day, Oct. 9, 2023, and stayed in her room.

Allowed into the unit by another tenant

Later that night, Gao returned to the unit and was let in by another tenant.

Gao approached the victim's room and claimed that he had left his bank card behind, and also wanted to apologise for the messages he sent her the night before.

However, the victim rejected his apology and told him that she would call the police on him.

This left Gao feeling "frustrated and sensitive", and he forced his way into the victim's room before molesting her and attempting to rape her.

He later admitted that the reasons for his actions were wanting to have sex with the victim, humiliate her and also "release a bit of anger".

Upon hearing the victim's screams, another tenant intervened and dragged Gao away.

Gao remained in the unit, and the victim eventually got one of her housemates to call the police.

A medical examination later found scratches and bruises on the victim's body.

Following his arrest, Gao was referred for psychiatric evaluation and was found to have no psychiatric disorder or illness.

Ran into a chamber to speak to the judge

In May 2024, while attending a pre-trial conference held via Zoom at the State Courts, Gao attempted to grab the laptop from his lawyer and ran out of the room.

He then entered a chamber, ignoring a "No Entry" sign, intending to speak to the judge.

Though he was asked to leave by a staff member and his father also attempted to drag him out, Gao refused to budge.

He only left when a staff member went to get help.

At one point, the panic alarm was also activated.

This resulted in an additional charge of criminal trespass against Gao.

While on bail, Gao also breached his conditions by returning to the victim’s home several times, hoping to find something that could “lighten his charge” or obtain her contact details to persuade her to retract her allegations.

Felt concerned after putting the victim through "a bad experience"

The prosecution sought seven years and five weeks' jail to eight years and seven weeks' jail for Gao, along with three strokes of the cane, stressing that he had repeatedly harassed the victim and intruded into her home.

They added that the rape attempt was only unsuccessful as another tenant happened to intervene.

During mitigation, Gao's lawyer argued that no excessive force had been used, ST reported.

He noted that though his client "had time to complete the offence", he "did not do so ultimately", adding that Gao's years of hard work in China and Singapore had "gone down the drain".

Gao later told the court, through his lawyer, that he wished to apologise to the victim and was concerned for her well-being after putting her through "a bad experience".

The judge ordered that Gao be considered for inmate programmes addressing his "sexual attitude and behaviour".

Top photos via Canva and Mothership