Indian-origin jailed for raping teacher in Singapore

A 27-year-old Indian-origin former beach patrol officer in Singapore was today sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for raping a drunken woman at the country's famous resort island of Sentosa in May 2012.

Pram Nair was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in July this year after a 15-day trial, during which he defended himself by "scandalising" the victim, claiming the 20-year-old relief teacher was an alcoholic party girl and had flirted with him and other men that night.

Prosecutors had called for a 16-year jail term and 15 strokes of the cane, "an exemplary sentence" which would "pierce false stereotypes and wrong assumptions about rapes and sexual assaults of intoxicated victims", Channel News Asia reported.

The sentence would serve as a warning that "it is not OK to assume that skimpily-clad, drunk girls at a party are asking for it," the Channel quoted Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy as saying.

Nair raped and sexually assaulted the victim on May 6, 2012 at about 2.25 AM after the pair met at a beach party and he plied her with alcohol, on one occasion pouring drink into her mouth for 20 seconds.

After the victim was intoxicated, Nair separated her from her friend and took her to a stretch of Siloso beach 80 to 90 metres away from the party, where he raped her while she lay unconscious.

Two other partygoers who saw Nair on top of the victim called the police. The victim's friend found her a short while later, lying on the sand naked from the waist down and foaming at the mouth.

Nair could have been jailed up to 20 years and caned for each of the two charges of rape and sexual assault.