Indian-origin man jailed for raping teacher in Singapore

A 27-year-old Indian-origin former beach patrol officer in Singapore was on Monday sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for raping a drunk 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 that 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 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 the victim on May 6, 2012, after they met at a beach party and he plied her with alcohol, on one occasion pouring drink into her mouth for 20 seconds.