Iranian man, 34, raped flatmate in S'pore, had repeatedly asked her to be in relationship with him weeks after moving in

A man who moved into a rental flat with other housemates pursued a female housemate, confessing that he liked her.

He repeatedly asked her to be in a relationship with him but was rejected.

Keivan Motallebi, 34, an Iranian national, then went to her room naked and forced her to his room to rape her.

Motallebi was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane on Nov. 4, reported The Straits Times (ST).

A gag order is placed on the identity of the victim, who was 26 years old at the time of the offence.

Raped in her own home

Prosecutors highlighted that Motallebi sexually assaulted the victim in a place she had regarded as her home for over a year and which should otherwise have been a safe sanctuary for her.

In court, Motallebi, who did not have a lawyer, responded that he also lived there, ST reported.

High Court Judge Mavis Chionh noted that this was beside the point, as a sexual assault committed in a victim’s own home is considered aggravating because the home is where a person is entitled to feel the most secure.

Motallebi later reportedly pleaded for leniency, saying: “I’m very sorry. I wish I could change the past, but I cannot do that.”

What happened

The victim, a foreigner, had moved into one room of the three-bedroom unit in 2021, after coming to Singapore to work.

In January 2023, Motallebi moved in and stayed in the master bedroom with the female landlord, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

Motallebi and the victim's first interaction occurred sometime in January 2023 when they briefly encountered each other in the kitchen.

The next encounter was on Jan. 30, 2023, at about 7pm, when the victim came home after work.

Motallebi knocked on the victim’s door and invited her to chat in the living room.

They exchanged personal information, including the fact that the victim was single.

Motallebi then pressed the victim to be in a relationship with him because he "liked" her.

To this, she replied that she needed time to consider this and returned to her bedroom.

The sexual assault

The next day, Motallebi approached the victim twice when she came back home and asked her to be in a relationship with him.

The victim rejected him.

Some time later, the victim heard a knock on the door of her bedroom and opened it slightly to find Motallebi standing outside naked.

Shocked, the victim immediately tried to close the door, but he pushed his way into the room, prosecutors said.

Motallebi then brought the victim to the master bedroom against her will and raped her there.

This was despite the victim struggling and repeatedly telling him no.

After the act, Motallebi apologised and asked her to forgive him.

She made a police report the next day, and he was arrested.