Things can be quite a haze after a wedding, especially if large amounts of alcohol are involved. After all, everyone’s likely to drink and be merry in celebration of a couple’s union.
However, in 2016, a wedding banquet in Singapore quickly turned awry after the groomsman molested and sexually assaulted the bride.
Though the 42-year-old claimed that he mistook the bride for his wife, the presiding judge called this a “desperate excuse”.
On Monday (19 Sep), the accused has been sentenced to seven years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
During the wedding in 2016, the accused was one of 10 groomsmen, whose ‘job’ included helping the groom down alcoholic drinks so he wouldn’t get too drunk.
Source: Unsplash, for illustration purposes only
After the banquet, the groomsmen and bridesmaid proceeded to an after-party in the couple’s bridal suite. There, they consumed more alcohol.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the bride did not join them but went to sleep in the bedroom instead.
At about 3am, everyone left the suite except for the victim’s husband and the accused — both of whom had fallen asleep on separate sofas in the living room.
However, the victim claimed she woke up at 6am and felt someone caressing her chest and sexually assaulting her.
The victim thought it was her husband and told him to take a shower. According to CNA, she also told him she had left the left side of the bed for him.
Later, the victim touched the man’s lower leg and felt a denim texture. She immediately sensed that something was amiss as her husband wasn’t wearing jeans at the banquet.
The victim did not say anything initially as she didn’t think anyone else would be in bed with her.
As she turned around, she realised that the man’s face was “much bigger and rounder” than her husband’s. She questioned who he was but did not get a response.
Feeling frightened, the victim got out of bed and went to the living room, where she found her husband lying on a sofa in his wedding suit. A while later, the shirtless groomsman emerged from the bedroom.
Later, the victim confronted the groomsman and accused him of indecent acts. The man denied them at first but later admitted to touching her chest. However, he insisted that he did not “touch her below”.
The man was subsequently told to leave, and the couple lodged a police report. However, the 39-year-old victim has since separated from her husband after dating for 11 years.
Testifying in court earlier in May, the victim claimed he mistook the bride for his wife. Though he admitted to touching the victim’s chest, he denied the sexual assault allegations.
He also claimed that he immediately withdrew his hand when he heard the victim’s voice, which did not sound like his wife’s.
However, Principal District Judge Victor Yeo called the offender’s account of mistaken identity “unbelievable” and a “desperate excuse”.
In particular, he argued that if the offender truly thought he was at home, he would’ve slept on the floor instead of on the bed. According to TODAY, this was because his wife did not usually allow him to sleep in a bed if he was drunk and had not unshowered.
On the other hand, the judge found the victim a “credible and honest witness” and found her account of events “unwavering”. He also found that her testimony corroborated with that of her husband.
As such, her evidence was found to be “unusually convincing”. Judge Yeo said this meant the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
When meting out the sentence on Monday (19 Sep), Judge Yeo ruled that there was a “certain level of deception” surrounding the groomsman’s crimes because the bride thought she was being touched by her husband.
According to The Straits Times, defence lawyer Edmond Pereira stated that the accused will be appealing against the conviction and sentence. His bail was subsequently set at S$30,000.
For sexually penetrating another person without consent, he may face 20 years’ jail and a fine or caning.
For using criminal force to outrage a person’s modesty, the accused may be sentenced to two years’ jail, a fine, caning, or any combination of these punishments.
Besides the latest molestation and sexual assault charges, the man was jailed for three months in 2002 for exhibiting or distributing obscene films.
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Featured image adapted from Flickr and is for illustration purposes only.
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