Rapist in Singapore gets longer jail term in place of 13 strokes of the cane after turning 50
A man convicted of rape and other sexual offences has failed in his bid to overturn both his conviction and sentence.
Instead, Koh Lee Hwa was handed an additional six months’ jail after he turned 50 and could no longer be caned under Singapore law.
Koh had been sentenced in November 2025 to 12 years and three weeks’ jail, along with 13 strokes of the cane.
However, the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeals on Thursday (7 May).
As Koh had turned 50 in January, the court imposed an extra six months’ jail in place of the caning.
Court says caning serves as deterrence
According to CNA, the Court of Appeal said the additional jail term would compensate for the loss of deterrence from caning.
The court also said caning is a good form of deterrence for sexual offences, and may give victims some solace knowing their attacker has to feel physical pain in addition to incarceration.
Koh’s lawyer objected to the prosecution’s request for more jail time in place of caning.
He argued that Koh was around 45 when the offences happened, and could not have anticipated that the case would only conclude years later, by which time he had crossed the age limit for caning.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon, however, urged the court not to let Koh receive a “discount” simply because he could no longer be caned.
Victim had hired Koh for renovation works
The victim, whose identity is protected by a gag order, had hired Koh to renovate her flat in 2015.
Koh, a Singapore permanent resident, later carried out renovation and electrical repair jobs for her sporadically.
Source: pixelshot on Canva, for illustration purposes only
In August 2021, while he was at her flat to repair lights, he hugged her without consent and raped her.
He claimed trial but was later convicted of four charges, including rape, sexual assault by penetration, and outrage of modesty.
During the trial, Koh argued that the sexual encounter was consensual.
However, the trial judge rejected his defence, finding the victim’s evidence “unusually convincing” and supported by messages she sent to friends on the day of the rape, including one in which she said she was “scared”.
Judge questions defence over alleged inconsistencies
At the appeal hearing, Koh’s lawyers, Eugene Lee and Nichol Yeo from Nine Yards Chambers, challenged his conviction and sentence.
Mr Lee sought to cast doubt on the victim’s account by pointing to inconsistencies, but Justice Steven Chong said the court should not focus on minor discrepancies.
Justice Chong also referred to the victim’s messages to her friends, and asked whether the defence was suggesting that they were false or contrived.
When Mr Lee replied that it was “possible”, Justice Chong responded:
Do you know how outrageous this is?
Court dismisses Koh’s appeals
Justice Chong also pointed out that, during the trial, the defence had never challenged the victim on whether she had made up the messages.
Because this was not raised then, Koh’s lawyers could not rely on that claim at the appeal stage.
He added that the defence could not rely on alleged inconsistencies to undermine objective evidence.
Justice Tay Yong Kwang, speaking on behalf of the court, dismissed Koh’s appeals against both conviction and sentence.
Koh remains on bail, with his daughter as his bailor, until he begins his jail term later this month.
Also read: 1,531 molestation & 479 rape cases reported in S’pore in 2025 as physical crime rises 4.4%
1,531 molestation & 479 rape cases reported in S’pore in 2025 as physical crime rises 4.4%
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Featured image by MS News.
