Public Prosecutor v S Rajkumar and Another

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Sia Aik Kor
• Judgment Date: 31 March 2005
• Neutral Citation: [2005] SGDC 77
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Year: 2005
• Published date: 18 April 2005
• Plaintiff Counsel: Tan Kiat Pheng / Md Imaduddien (Deputy Public Prosecutors)
• Defendant Counsel: Surian, Mahendaran and Harvinderjit Singh,B J Lean
• Citation: [2005] SGDC 77

31 March 2005

District Judge Sia Aik Kor:

The accused persons were charged with offences under s 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241).

2 The first accused, S Rajkumar, faced the following 3 charges:

DAC 20606/2004

… that you on or about the 29^th October 2001, at Blk 201 Choa Chu Kang Central #06-168, Singapore, did corruptly give, through one Thirukumaran s/o Jeevanathan to one [J], a gratification of a sum of $500 (five hundred dollars), as an inducement to the said [J] to do an act, to wit, to give a further statement to the Police stating that the accusation made by her to the police against you for raping and sodomising her on 21^st September 2001 was false and you have thereby committed an offence under section 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241)

DAC 20607/2004

… that you on a day in October 2001, at Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore, did corruptly offer, through one Selliaya Suresh to one [J], a gratification of a sum of $10,000 (ten thousand dollars), as an inducement to the said [J] to do an act, to wit, to give a further statement to the police stating that the accusation made by her to the Police against you for raping and sodomising her on 21^st September 2001 was false and you have thereby committed an offence under section 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241)

DAC 20608/2004

… that you on a day in November 2001, at Parklane Shopping Centre, Singapore, did corruptly give, through one Selliaya Suresh and Normi bin Jahari, to one [J], a gratification of a sum of $2,000 (two thousand dollars), as an inducement to the said [J] to do an act, to wit, to give a further statement to the Police stating that the accusation made by her to the Police against you for raping and sodomising her on 21^st September 2001 was false and you have thereby committed an offence under section 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241)

3 The second accused, Balbir Singh, faced the following charge which was amended at the close of the prosecution’s case:

DAC 28121/2004

…that you, between October and November 2001, in Singapore, did abet, by intentionally aiding one S Rajkumar in the commission of the offence of corruptly offering a gratification of $10,000 as inducement to one [J] to give a further statement to the police stating that the accusation made to the police against the said S Rajkumar by the said [J] for raping and sodomising her on 21^st September 2001 was false, to wit, by persuading the said [J] to give the said further statement to the police in return for money, which offence was committed in consequence of your abetment, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 5(b)(i) read with section 29 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241)

The prosecution’s case

4 The charges arose out of a report of rape made by J on 22 September 2001 (P6).

Evidence of Thirukumaran Jeevanathan (PW1)

5 Thirukumaran Jeevanathan (“Alex”) gave evidence that he and the first accused were close friends. One Sunday during his reservist period in 2001 at about 1:00 or 1:30 a.m., he was watching television programmes at home when the first accused was brought to his flat by CID personnel. The first accused told Alex that he had brought one J to the flat and was arrested for rape. Alex knew J as the first accused had introduced her to him at a pub. The first accused then told Alex not to tell anyone about his arrest and requested Alex to bail him out the next day.

6 After the first accused left the flat, Alex proceeded to Parklane Shopping Centre to inform his friends, Steven and Devan, that the first accused had been arrested and he would stand bail for the first accused the next day. Later that morning, Alex bailed out the first accused. The first accused was very depressed and while they were chatting over drinks at a coffeeshop, the first accused told Alex that the allegation was a lie and must be withdrawn somehow. After J left Alex’s flat, her boyfriend had called the first accused and told him to watch out. The first accused believed that J would not have made the report and it was her boyfriend who put her up to it. Alex confirmed that the first accused said that the allegation was a lie but was not sure whether the first accused said this when he was brought to Alex’s flat or after he was bailed out.

7 Alex and the first accused then proceeded to Parklane Shopping Centre to meet with Steven and they talked about engaging a lawyer. Subsequently, Alex, the first accused, Steven, Devan and Prem were at Railway Mall when Alex called J. After trying 2 or 3 times, he managed to get her on the phone and she said that what his younger brother, referring to the first accused, did was not proper. She refused to talk about the matter and hung up the phone. That evening at about 7 or 8 p.m., the group of friends proceeded to National University Hospital (“NUH”) to see Mr Subhas Anandan (“Subhas”).

Meeting between Mani, Alex and the accused persons at Alex’s flat

8 A few days after the NUH visit, the first accused was at Alex’s flat when he told Alex that Mani and the second accused were talking to J at Bukit Panjang near her place of residence. The first accused then asked for Alex’s address and relayed it to someone over the phone. Subsequently, Mani and the second accused turned up at Alex’s flat and were introduced to him. Mani teased the first accused and the second accused spoke about what he had said to J and her boyfriend. The second accused said that they have told J that the first accused’s mother had heart problems and his wife was expecting. The second accused also said that the matter was to be settled. Alex did not hear Mani say that J and her boyfriend would need cash if the problem was going to be resolved in an easy manner. Alex also did not hear the first accused raise his voice and say that he was not going to give a single cent and would see her in court.

9 The second accused said J would talk to Alex but not the first accused so Alex agreed to speak to J about the rape allegations and the family problems of the first accused. Alex said he did not know whether the first accused’s family problems were true but the first accused told him to repeat what the second accused had told J about such problems in order to gain sympathy. The second accused then said he would fix up an appointment for J and Alex.

10 After Mani and the second accused had left, Alex asked the first accused if he had handcuffed and sodomised J and the first accused confessed to him that he had done so only upon J’s request. The first accused also told Alex that he was not going to tell his lawyer about the same as he has seen many such cases in court and was worried that his lawyer may not fight the case for him if he admitted the same to his lawyer. Alex told the first accused that he was a terrible person and both of them laughed.

Meeting at Clementi

11 According to Alex, the first accused told him that he was to meet the second accused at Clementi and speak to J about the rape allegation. Alex had given his mobile phone number to the second accused and obtained the second accused’s number from the first accused. Subsequently, Alex and the second accused were in contact over the phone about meeting J. Alex surmised that the first accused had asked him to talk to J as she would talk to Alex but not to the first accused. Secondly, the first accused is not supposed to talk to J since he has a case with her.

12 Alex and the second accused met at the carpark near Clementi MRT station sometime in the evening. They proceeded to McDonalds and waited for J and her boyfriend. Alex knew that J’s boyfriend would be coming as the second accused had told him the same. When J and her boyfriend arrived, the four of them proceeded to the hawker centre behind McDonalds.

13 Alex checked with J’s boyfriend that it was alright to speak to her in private before bringing her aside and asking her what had happened. The second accused and J’s boyfriend were about 7 to 8 metres away. Alex could not remember whether he had spoken to both J and her boyfriend before or after this private conversation. During the private conversation, J cried and said that what Alex’s younger brother, referring to the first accused, did was not correct and that she was forced into doing it. Alex then said that the first accused’s mother was suffering from chest pains and his wife was pregnant. Alex did not know what will happen to the first accused’s family if the matter was going to be blown up. Alex told J to help the first accused’s family as much as she can by withdrawing the case and said that if she needed help, she could call him and he would try his best to help her out. Alex agreed that his offer to help J was made out of his own volition. J said she did not know what to do and that she needed to talk to her boyfriend. Subsequently, J’s boyfriend came with the second accused. The second accused spoke to J about the first accused’s family problems for a short while. Alex also spoke casually to J’s boyfriend. According to Alex, J’s boyfriend said angrily that what the first accused did was wrong. J’s boyfriend was already aware of the first accused’s family problems as the second accused had already spoken to him. J’s boyfriend then expressed the desire to see the first accused’s mother and to see the first accused to talk to him after the problem is over. Alex’s evidence was that there was no talk of money at this meeting. Prior to the meeting, the first accused did not tell him to offer money to J or her boyfriend and the second accused did not tell him that J and her boyfriend were asking for money to settle the matter. He thought that J and her boyfriend were amenable to a settlement as they said they would go home and speak to their family.

Meeting with J in Alex’s flat

14 Alex later told the first accused about what they had talked about at Clementi and that he had told J that...