Singapore: Indian National Jailed For Raping University Student

A 26-year-old Indian national named Chinnaiah working as a janitor at a university in Singapore has been convicted of 16 years of jail and 12 cane strokes for raping a 21-year-old university student in May 2019.

The reason why the case took four years to serve justice was due to Chinnaiah's mental condition which required many psychiatric evaluations. The survivor student had allegedly sustained several facial bruises and injuries from the man's attack. Her injuries were so severe that upon reaching the hospital her folks could not even recognise her. 

Details Of The Incident

The TODAY outlet reported that the student was walking towards the bus stop late at night and the accused Chinnaiah was stalking her. He distracted her and punched her in the face, post which he dragged her to the nearby forest area. 

The incident occurred on May 4, 2019, when Chinnaiah raped the survivor in the secluded forest area. It was revealed that the survivor tried to remove his hand from her neck as she was unable to breathe and Chinnaiah strongly reacted by tightening his grip and asking her to quiet her down, something that severely injured her as well. 

The survivor student was unable to find her specs but she somehow found her mobile phone and immediately called her boyfriend who then informed her friend who called the police. Kayal Pillay, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) said that after the arrival of officials, the survivor was rushed to the hospital for sexual assault examinations and was treated for multiple bruises, scapes, and scratches, and had some strangulation marks around her neck. Chinnaiah was arrested the next day. 

DPP Yvonne Poon, while hearing the case in court, also referred to the survivor's impact statement of July 13, 2023, in which she said she still gets nightmares and flashbacks and also deals with suicidal thoughts. 

DPP Poon said that Chinnaiah's attack was not in the "spur of the moment" as following the survivor was "insidious" and misguiding her way to the last possible safe route was intentional. 

The court has convicted Chinnaiah of 12 strokes of cane and 16 years of prison. 

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