A man who was accused of raping an undergraduate had fled to Thailand, while on bail and the case came up before the High Court on Monday. The court has issued an arrest warrant for the person who fled the country after getting bail.
The court heard that the passport of the convict, Ong Soon Heng is still being held by the Singapore police. Eunice Lau, the Deputy Public Prosecutor informed the court that there are no official records which prove that Ong Soon Heng has fled to Thailand. However, his bank records indicate that several withdrawals were being made from Thailand.
It was on November 2016 that the court sentenced Ong Soon Heng to 13.5 years in jail and 12 strokes with the cane. However, the convict appealed against the sentence and was granted bail of S$80,000 pending a court hearing this November. But last month, his brother who was the bailer informed the police that he is totally clueless about Ong's whereabouts.
The 41-year-old fugitive was a bunker surveyor, and was accused of raping a drunk undergraduate girl in his house in 2014. The victim, whose name cannot be revealed due to a gag order, was then working in an eatery owned by Ong's friends. Ong who used to visit the eatery frequently, befriended the undergraduate girl, said the prosecution version.
One day, when the undergraduate girl was drunk heavily, Ong carried her to his house and indulged in sexual acts with her. After two hours, the victim's boyfriend traced her location using a mobile application and found her lying next to Ong in a bed. The victim at that time was wearing a T-shirt and boxer shorts which were not hers.
After being caught red-handed, Ong claimed that he was having an intimate affair with the victim. In the initial investigation, police came to know that the victim was heavily intoxicated during the time of the crime, and the chances of consensual sex are very unlikely.
