Consent is important in every situation. That’s especially the case when it comes to sexual activities where such ‘agreements’ have to be communicated very clearly.
However, the line can sometimes be very blur.
A former Grab driver was recently acquitted of an attempted rape charge after a judge ruled that the alleged victim had the capacity to provide consent.
Earlier, the prosecution had argued that the girl was too intoxicated to consent to the sexual acts.
According to TODAY, the driver, Tan Yew Sin, picked up the alleged 19-year-old victim from a bar in Seletar on 19 May 2018.
She had reportedly drunk five pints of beer prior to boarding the vehicle. Her friend passed her a plastic bag in case she needed to vomit en route home.
Upon entering the vehicle, she lay down in the rear passenger seat.
The girl testified that she was unable to remember what happened. However, she can be heard crying and interacting with Mr Tan in the in-car camera footage.
After reaching her residence, CNA reports that the girl told Mr Tan that she was “not ready to leave”. At this point, she searched for her wallet to pay for the ride.
When the girl was unable to access her residence, she agreed to follow Mr Tan back to the car.
It is understood that it was at this point that they began engaging in sexual acts. After that, TODAY reports that she said “no” and pushed Mr Tan’s hands away.
Mr Tan subsequently “honoured” her refusal.
The judge said that this demonstrated the alleged victim’s awareness of her surroundings and therefore her ability to give or refuse content.
On the matter of consent, the prosecution accepted the judge’s decision that a lack of verbal consent was “inconclusive, as consent may be manifested in other ways”.
CNA adds that another Grab driver later found the girl lying in the middle of the road without her underwear and shorts, although no further details are given.
The defence’s second argument was that even if the girl couldn’t give her consent, Tan could have mistakenly but reasonably believed she was able to do so.
These factors, along with the fact that the girl was able to respond appropriately to Tan’s words during their encounter, is what led to the driver’s acquittal.
Additionally, the judge considered the credibility of Mr Tan’s testimony as the alleged victim was unable to recall the sexual encounter. She was also unable to provide evidence as to whether she provided consent.
Another critical point that led to the verdict was that Mr Tan’s statement of events had been consistent since his first police statement. CCTV footage and in-car audio recordings also corroborated his account of the events.
If convicted of attempted rape and sexual assault, Mr Tan could’ve faced a jail term of up to 20 years, a fine, and caning.
It is difficult to determine if intoxication plays a considerable part in one’s cognitive ability. After all, everyone has a different tolerance to alcohol.
While proven innocent in the eyes of the law, Mr Tan, who is married with three children, should certainly have acted with more self-control.
At the end of the day, this could all have been avoided if he’d just stuck to his job — to simply ferry her home after a night out.
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Featured image courtesy of MS News.
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