Man jailed for abetting conspiracy to rape colleague's wife

SINGAPORE: After about two years of discussing wife-sharing fantasies with a colleague, a man went to his colleague's home at his invitation and attempted to rape his unconscious wife.

The woman's three children and domestic helper were asleep in another room when this went on. However, as he was predisposed to erectile dysfunction, he was unable to complete the act.

The 47-year-old man, who cannot be named as this could lead to the victim being identified, was sentenced on Thursday (Jan 13) to three years' jail.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of abetment of conspiracy to commit rape, where the rape did not occur. A second charge of outrage of modesty was taken into consideration.

The court heard that the accused, a sales manager, got to know the victim's husband A2 in 2010 when he supplied goods to A2's workplace.

In 2015, the accused became A2's colleague, and they became close. A2 started sharing details of his sex life with the accused, as well as his wife-sharing fantasies. Subsequently, A2 broached the idea of the accused having sex with A2's wife.

A2 married his wife in 1994 and has three children of school-going age with her, the court heard.

In August 2017, A2 contacted the accused and said his wife was ready. He never told the accused that his wife had consented to sex with him, and the accused never asked if she had consented.

In truth, A2's wife neither agreed to the accused going to her house nor to having sex with him.

THE VICTIM WAS UNCONSCIOUS

Past midnight on a day sometime before Sep 1, 2017, A2 gave the accused access to his home and bedroom. His wife was unconscious on the bed after A2 had given her alcohol and a drug.

He then asked the accused to have sex with his wife while A2 watched. The accused molested the victim and tried to rape her but was unable to.

As the victim began to regain consciousness, she realised someone other than her husband was attempting sex with her and removed the blindfold that her husband had earlier put on her.

The accused fled. 

The victim later insisted that both the accused and A2 write confession letters, which the accused did.

In his letter, the accused said he was in the house for five to eight minutes and was told by A2 that all was okay, but he then found out that the victim did not know about it and was unconscious.

He was later assessed for erectile dysfunction and was found to be predisposed to it.

AN APPALLING CASE: PROSECUTOR

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling asked for between two and three-and-a-half years' jail. The accused had earlier been convicted in July 2018 of nine charges, including the sale of obscene books, insulting modesty and possessing uncensored and obscene films. He was given 12 weeks' jail and fined S$20,000.

Ms Chee said this is "an appalling case" where the accused conspired with A2 to rape A2's wife. Fortunately, the victim regained consciousness before the accused could complete the rape.

There are four aggravating factors, she said - premeditation and planning, the presence of a vulnerable victim, exposure to harm in the form of sexual disease or pregnancy, and attempted rape in the victim's home.

The premeditation is "clear", said Ms Chee. The two men discussed their "devious plan" for about two years before executing it, and the accused's role is "pivotal" to the enactment of A2's "deviant sexual fantasy".

"He was as invested as A2 in the fulfilment of A2's sexual fantasies," she said.

The victim was unconscious, naked and blindfolded and unable to resist any advances or in any state to give consent, said Ms Chee.

There was also a risk of pregnancy from pre-ejaculation fluids, even though there was no full penetration, she said. The act was committed in the victim's home, with an intrusion into her safe space that "destroyed her personal sense of safety and security".

The accused was convicted over a similar "perverse incident" in 2016. Although the current offences were not detected at the time of his conviction in July 2018, he escalated his offending and went on to conspire to rape A2's wife.

A2 PLANNED IT: DEFENCE

Defence lawyer Nakoorsha Abdul Kadir asked instead for between two and two-and-a-half years' jail, the lower end of the range the prosecution sought.

He pointed to his client's early plea of guilt, letter of apology after the offence and cooperation with authorities.

He said although his client did have a previous conviction for sexual crimes, it was not as though he was "convicted, served his sentence, came out and reoffended".

He said it was not entirely true that his client and A2 planned the offence for about two years. Instead, they were "basically sharing wife-sharing fantasies".

He added that it was A2 who was "planning the whole thing", while his client "went along for the ride".

The judge noted that the attempted rape occurred in the victim's matrimonial home, with exploitation of a space that should have been safe for the family members.

The accused could have been sentenced to a maximum of five years' jail for his offence. He is the first man to be sentenced in this case. Another six men are involved in a broader scheme of wife-sharing that resulted in alleged sex crimes.

The cases came to light after one of their wives found explicit photos in her husband's phone and lodged a police report.

Four men, including A2, are set to plead guilty to their offences next month. A fifth man intends to claim trial, while the position of the sixth man is not clear at this point.