A 30-year-old man who was accused of repeatedly raping a young woman in public along Martin Road in Singapore in 2013 "does not remember his actions", the High Court heard on Tuesday.
Lim Choon Beng, who initially pleaded guilty, later claimed he could not remember his actions.
At the beginning of his trial on Tuesday morning, Lim had pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count each of outraging the woman's modesty and sexually penetrating her without her consent.
According to the reports, a third rape charge, in addition to two other counts of sexual penetration, and one count of being in possession of 13 obscene films will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The victim, a Chinese national, who was then 24 years old, said she was "waylaid" by Lim in the early hours of 9 February, 2013, the eve of Chinese New Year. Lim raped the young woman, a performing artiste, three times. He also sexually assaulted her, for which he faces another three counts.
This entire incident continued for 20 minutes along a stretch from Martin Road leading up to River Valley Close in Singapore.
The prosecution will call a number of witnesses in this case. The woman who called the police upon witnessing the assault and the female driver who picked up the victim are also included in the witness list.
On Tuesday morning, the victim took the stand and explained the gruesome event in the court. In order to protect the victim's identity, media and public access in the court was restricted while the victim was in the witness box.
As reported by Channel News Asia, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lin Yinbing said that after the medical examination, Lim's DNA was found on the victim's bra and her blood was found on Lim's underwear and clothing.
The trial is expected to last for eight days. Lim is being defended by lawyer Anand Nalachandran who has taken on the case pro bono.
If found guilty Lim could be sentenced to 20 years for each count of rape besides caning.
