Man allegedly posed as cop and raped girl, 16
Firman had allegedly told the girl's boyfriend to leave before leading the girl to another block.
THE STAR
SINGAPORE: After observing a teen couple behaving intimately in an HDB stairwell, a pizza delivery man allegedly approached them, posing as a police officer, and raped the 16-year-old girl after sending away her boyfriend of the same age.
Muhammad Firman Jumali Chew, 30, who is married with a child, went on trial in the High Court Tuesday for one count each of rape, sexual assault by forcing her to perform oral sex on him and pretending to be a public servant.
The offences were allegedly committed on Oct 9, 2013, on the Singaporean, a Secondary 3 student who commuted daily to school from her Johor Baru home. She is now 19.
Setting out the prosecution's case, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz told the court that the couple will testify that they were at the 11th-floor staircase landing of Block 362, Woodlands Avenue 5, when the girl noticed someone peering at them.
Alarmed by Firman's presence, the couple quickly left the stairwell.
But, while they were waiting for the lift, Firman allegedly identified himself as a policeman and asked for their identity cards.
They complied as they were worried that he would report their sexual acts to the police, their parents and their schools, said the DPP.
Firman returned the boy's identity card and told him to leave.
Firman then led the girl to the fifth floor of Block 359, which was nearby.
The DPP said the girl will testify that, after Firman asked if she wanted her parents to know what she had done with her boyfriend, she begged him not to tell anyone and offered him money.
The girl will tell how she was sexually assaulted and that she did as she was told as she was afraid that Firman would report her, added the DPP.
Firman later returned the girl her identity card at Woodlands bus interchange, said the DPP.
A passer-by will also testify that he saw Firman walking away from Block 362 with the girl. The passer-by, Tung Shue Kiong, later saw the boyfriend pacing nervously on the ground floor.
The DPP said Tung will testify how he helped the boy search for the girl for an hour, how he followed the boy to the interchange, where he saw Firman, and how he confronted the accused, asking him what he had done to the girl.
Evidence will be led to show that the girl was distressed, scared and sobbing, the court heard.
A family friend travelling back to Johor Baru with the girl will testify that she revealed during the journey that she had been raped. She returned to Singapore that night to make a police report.
The DPP told the court that an analysis of Firman's mobile phone showed that he had researched rape and fellatio the next day.
The maximum punishment for rape and sexual assault is 20 years' jail, with possible caning or a fine. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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