S'pore man, 50, caught naked in car with another man's wife, found guilty of rash act

While getting intimate with his lover in a car, a naked man was caught by the woman's husband.

He attempted to drive off as the other man clung onto the car bonnet, causing him to fall and sustain injuries.

Chia Hiok Seah, 50, previously pleaded not guilty to committing a rash act endangering human life and for public nudity.

A judge convicted him on the rash act charge on Mar. 11.

Chia had claimed he had driven off because he was scared of the other man, but the judge did not accept this explanation, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The judge said that Chia would not have been naked in the car with the man's wife if he feared the man, and also noted that the pair didn't try any other methods before driving away.

She also found that Chia knew that there was a real risk that his action would endanger the victim’s life.

Background

The incident took place on Jun. 29, 2024, at a multi-storey car park in Sengkang.

The couple had gone for dinner with friends before driving to a multi-storey car park near her home for "some intimacy acts".

Chia admitted during an earlier hearing that they had been nude, but they did not do anything sexual as the woman — Shunyi — was menstruating that day.

They had been "chatting inside the car", Chia said.

While "chatting", he was in the driver's seat, while Shunyi leaned against the dashboard, facing him.

She then spotted some lights, which Chia merely believed to be from another vehicle.

Banging, screaming

Chia did not think much of the lights, until a "banging sound" began.

Shunyi quickly ducked into the passenger seat and began screaming, he told the court.

She asked him to "quickly please protect" her and "quickly get out of this place".

"Then that time, I was still in a shocked state, whereby — what's happening? Because in my mind, it never crossed my mind it's Gordon in the first place," he said.

Gordon is Shunyi's husband. Charge sheets identified him as Goh Yong Sern.

He eventually recognised the man, who was banging hard and trying to break into the car.

Believing that Goh would do something to harm him and his lover, Chia made to leave. "I knew I cannot face this man," he explained.

Felt fearful

As he was about to leave, Goh "jumped onto [his] bonnet".

"You can imagine, his face is so anger, unlike what you see on the video clip. He was smashing hard on the windscreen with his body, trying to break open."

Chia added that he felt "so afraid at the time", and feared that Goh would break through the windscreen and attack them.

He then reversed his car, in hopes that Goh would get off the car.

At the time, Goh was banging on the windscreen with one fist, and apparently trying to pull out his wiper.

Chia claimed he eventually stopped the car as he realised that Goh would not get off, and might end up "more injured" if he continued to drive.

Goh then fell off.

Car doors locked

In her decision, the judge said that Chia's car doors were locked at the time of the encounter and thus posed no risk of Goh breaking in.

Both Chia and Shunyi had their mobile phones with them, and they could have easily called for help, she noted.

He also could have honked for help, given that they were in a public area.

"Instead, their first response was to drive off while the victim was on the bonnet. I could not accept that this was a reasonable response on the part of the accused to drive off without having attempted to try anything else first, and certainly not to drive all the way out of the car park," she said.

Chia had given previous chat logs between him and Goh as evidence, but the judge noted that they did not involve any physical contact.

On the other hand, Chia's replies showed that he was calm and not afraid, and even contained elements of insults.

She pointed out that Chia continued with the affair despite knowing Goh was aware of it, even going as far as to engage in intimate acts with her near Goh's residence.

The judge believed that all these actions clearly showed that Chia was not afraid of Goh at all, and therefore found him guilty.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Apr. 6.

Top photos from Shin Min Daily News