S'pore man, 27, acquitted of sexual assault of vulnerable person on staircase after court finds reasonable doubt
The case judgement was published on Oct. 9.
A 27-year-old man has been acquitted of sexual assault charges against a vulnerable 23-year-old man, after a Singapore court found that the prosecution could not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges, which involved penetration and outrage of modesty, allegedly took place on October 30, 2024. The court noted that the complainant had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and was weak in verbal skills but relatively stronger in non-verbal skills.
The accused, who did not know the complainant prior to the incident, approached him after seeing him walking with a bicycle on a staircase. The pair later took a lift together to level 19 of a building, where the alleged assault occurred. The prosecution claimed that the complainant saw a punctured bicycle and pushed it before asking the accused for the time, leading to the assault.
The accused denied the allegations and argued that he walked away from the police car and that the complainant followed him without being asked. The court considered the complainant's ASD but ultimately ruled that the testimony alone was not enough for a conviction due to the lack of corroborative evidence.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
