A 69-year-old man molested and raped his domestic helper between Nov 2020 and Mar 2021.
The man, Tan Jeck Tuang, induced a state of helplessness in his victim, preventing her from resisting.
When she attempted to leave, the assaulter’s brother called the police to stop her. They arrested the sexual assaulter when they arrived.
Tan was sentenced to 15 years’ jail for one charge of rape and one charge of outrage of modesty.
The victim, a 45-year-old Indonesian national, had worked as a helper for Tan Jeck Tuang since Aug 2020. Her role was to take care of him due to his diagnosis of vascular dementia.
On 7 Nov 2020, the victim entered Tan’s room to collect an empty plate after he had finished a meal she prepared.
He then pulled her hand and said “Sleep”. According to The Straits Times (ST), the victim “immediately felt weak, helpless and as if she was about to faint”.
The prosecutor, TODAY reported, described this as a “depersonalisation syndrome”, a persistent feeling of being detached from one’s body or mental processes.
She collapsed and Tan subsequently molested her on his bed. The prosecutor stated that the victim was conscious and aware but unable to open her eyes or resist.
When she opened her eyes later, Tan apologised and said he enjoyed her body, causing the victim to leave the room crying.
Her shirt was also stained with what Tan claimed was water. She kept it as evidence and DNA analysis would later confirm it as Tan’s semen.
Sometime between February and March 2021, Tan approached the victim from behind in the kitchen and commanded her to “sleep” again.
Similar to the previous incident, she once again fell into a state of helplessness where she was conscious but unable to resist.
Tan dragged her to a chair and sexually assaulted her once more. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him.
On 11 Apr 2021, the helper packed her belongings and attempted to leave the flat. Tan’s brother called the police in an attempt to stop her.
When they arrived, the helper told them that Tan had raped her. The police then arrested Tan.
The authorities had the victim assessed at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). IMH diagnosed her with severe depression following the sexual assaults, including suicidal thoughts, reported TODAY.
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The IMH report also suggested that Tan had induced depersonalisation into the victim, which resulted in a state of helplessness.
The report added that the victim was in a vulnerable state due to the power difference between her and her employer.
As such, the prosecutor argued that she was in the same position as a victim who was actually unconscious.
Since the victim has suffered significant mental trauma, the prosecutor sought 15 years’ jail for Tan.
Tan’s lawyer, however, argued that 15 years in jail was tantamount to a life sentence for his ageing client.
“What he did was deplorable but certainly not the worst of his kind,” the lawyer said. “He has been a law-abiding citizen all his life until this happened here,”
He sought a sentence of 10 years’ jail.
The High Court judge, Justice Aedit Abdullah, said that Tan abused his power and authority over his helper to subject her to repeated assaults.
He did not agree that Tan’s age warranted a mitigated sentence:
Those who do not wish to die in prison are advised not to commit offences that would leave them to die in prison.
Eventually, the judge sentenced Tan Jeck Tuang to 15 years’ jail for one charge of rape and one charge of outrage of modesty.
In another case from Nov 2022, a married man received 24 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane for repeatedly raping his 24-year-old domestic helper.
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Featured image by MS News.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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