'Menace to society': Serial offender tried to sexually assault his 81-year-old mother

SINGAPORE – A man who had to move out of his flat for assaulting his wife turned to his mother for help, but he ended up trying to sexually assault and strangle the 81-year-old woman one night after returning to her home in a drunken state.

On Feb 27, the recalcitrant offender, now 61, pleaded guilty to one charge each of attempted sexual assault by penetration, causing grievous hurt to his 60-year-old wife, and using criminal force on a police officer.

Another nine charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing.

Prosecutors described the man, who has 50 entries on his criminal records from 1982 to 2019, as a “menace to society” as they sought a sentence of preventive detention.

The case was adjourned after the High Court judge called for a report to assess if he was suitable for the regime, which detains repeat offenders for between seven and 20 years, for the protection of the public.

Over the years, the man had been fined and jailed for various offences including housebreaking, disorderly behaviour and criminal intimidation. In 1987, he was given 10 years’ corrective training for culpable homicide.

After his most recent prison stint, he found work as a part-time driver, and lived with his wife and son, who was then 23 years old.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan said the accused has been an alcoholic for many years, and that his wife would not let him into the flat when he was intoxicated because he would become violent and have a “high sex drive”.

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On Jan 10, 2021, the man, who had earlier been drinking, asked his wife for sex. When she declined, he scolded her and threatened to break her face.

Later that night, he suddenly charged towards her and punched her hard in the face, causing her to fall backwards and hit the cupboard.

After their son pushed him away, the woman ran out to seek help.

She suffered a fractured nose, broken blood vessels in her eye, and a fractured finger, and was hospitalised for seven days.

Following the incident, she obtained a personal protection order, to restrain the man from committing family violence against her, as well as a domestic exclusion order, to restrict him from entering her home.

As a result, the man had to move out.

With nowhere else to go, he turned to his mother, who lived in a rented one-room flat.

She agreed to take him in, even though her two granddaughters tried to dissuade her from doing so because of his history of violence.

The man moved in with his mother in March 2021, and would return intoxicated every night. 

On April 27, 2021, the man, who had consumed at least 20 cans of beer, suddenly placed his belt around his mother’s neck and tightened it, but eventually released the strap.

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After the woman went to sleep, the man climbed onto her bed, hugged her and removed her clothes by force.

DPP Tan said: “The victim resisted, told him to stop and that she was his mother, but to no avail.”

The man then molested his mother, grabbed her neck and strangled her while repeatedly telling her not to shout, and punched her when she continued to struggle.

He tried to sexually violate her but she pushed his hand away. He then got off the victim and fell asleep.

She did not sleep the whole night. The next morning, while she was waiting for the lift to go to the market with a neighbour, her son told her that he would kill her if she told anyone about the incident.

The neighbour later noticed that the right side of the victim’s mouth was swollen and called the woman’s granddaughter. The granddaughter then called the police.

In court on Feb 27, the man, who did not have a lawyer, said in slurred speech that alcohol was “very bad” for his life.

He initially told the court that he loved his mother, and that she had arranged for him to get married, placing him in a “nightmare” because he and his wife had problems “every day”.

He said his wife was a “good wife”, but added that he loved only his two children and did not love his wife and his mother.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.