When one is believed to be possessed or followed by an evil spirit, the first thing most would do is to exorcise the spirit out of the individual.
A man in Singapore who claimed to be a medium molested and raped a female friend under the guise that it was necessary to rid her of ‘ghosts’ and was thrown into jail for 18 years.
Reconnected via FB in 2019
CNA reported that the suspect and victim knew each other since they were in secondary school, where the victim affectionately called him ‘kor’ (elder brother).
In 2019, the man reached out to the victim on Facebook and reestablished their friendship. He was 20 while she was 22 at the time. He also had meals with her and another friend and often fetched her to and back from work.
Eventually, he fell in love with her but she didn’t feel the same way about him as she had eyes for an ex-boyfriend.
SG man helps friend get rid of ‘ghosts’ by raping her
Before the rape took place, the man told the victim that he was an assistant at a temple and a medium or “God of Chang E’s rabbit”. He also brought her to the temple multiple times.
One day, the man was at the victim’s house and claimed to see spirits following her and her sister and that the house had ghosts as well.
To assuage their fears, he told the victim that he would perform consecration rituals to chase the ghosts away and keep her and her sister safe from harm.
The man then performed the rituals at either his house or the victim’s, where he gave her amulets and talismans too.
At first, the rituals were performed when the victim had her clothes on. But as it progressed, the man told her to remove it so that he could draw talismans on her body.
During the rituals which were carried out between 22 July to 27 July 2019, the man raped the victim and even tricked her into thinking it was part of the ritual despite her uneasiness.
According to the prosecution, he told her so as he knew that she wouldn’t have intercourse with him otherwise.
After the victim was raped for the second time on July 27, 2019, she finally spilled the entire affair to her friends and lodged a police report two days later.
Jailed 18 years for rape
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana requested the court to sentence the man to 17 to 23 years’ jail and 16 cane strokes, citing that he had manipulated the victim to sexually exploit her, reported The Straits Times (ST).
The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) also found that the victim’s overall adaptive living skills was below average, making her especially vulnerable to deception.
The man’s lawyers pleaded for up to 16 years’ jail and 14 cane strokes, saying that he was remorseful and had written a letter of apology. They also said that he was a first-time offender and admitted his guilt at the earliest opportunity.
After pleading guilty to two charges of rape and one of sexual assault by penetration, the man was jailed for 18 years, 11 months and three weeks along with 16 cane strokes.
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