A 67-year-old man has been accused of raping his domestic helper, who was then 35 years old, after offering her wine and “supplement” injections.
The man, who is not represented by a lawyer, is contesting the allegations in a trial that opened in the High Court yesterday.
The incident allegedly took place on the night of Jan 5, 2020, when the maid was alone at home with the man while the rest of his family was overseas.
The man faces five charges – two for rape, one for sexual assault by penetration, and two for outrage of modesty.
He cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the woman’s identity.
The alleged victim was the first witness to take the stand. Her testimony was heard in camera, meaning it was out of bounds to the public and the media.
In its opening statement, the prosecution alleged that on the night in question, the man invited the maid to watch television with him, and offered her wine.
The man then offered her “supplement” injections, which she accepted, said the prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew.
After giving her the injections on a sofa in the living room, the man sexually assaulted her, said the prosecution.
“The victim did not consent to any of the sexual acts, but was unable to resist the accused as she was feeling too giddy and weak from what she had consumed,” said the opening statement.
Prosecutors alleged that the man later carried the maid back to her room and placed her on her bed.
The prosecution said it will present closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage capturing the assault, as well as the man’s admissions in his video-recorded interviews.
In particular, the CCTV footage from the living room will show that the man had performed the sexual acts on the woman while she was in a very weakened and unresponsive state, and that the acts were not consensual, said the prosecution.
Footage from the camera in the maid’s bedroom will show that before he gave her the injections, the man had deliberately shifted the camera in her room to face away from her bed.
The prosecution contended that this indicates that he had already formed the intention to commit the sexual acts against the woman. — The Straits Times/ANN
