Man raped housemate after she rejected his relationship request, gets jail and caning
The self-represented man disputed the prosecution's point that it was an aggravating factor that the victim was raped in her own home, saying that it was also his home.
A 34-year-old Iranian national, Keivan Motallebi, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and six strokes of the cane for raping his housemate after she rejected his relationship request. Motallebi, who moved into the shared unit in January 2023, repeatedly asked the 26-year-old victim to be in a relationship with him despite her repeated rejections.
On January 30, 2023, he entered her bedroom fully naked, raped her, and threatened her. The victim reported the incident to the police, and prosecutors sought a prison term between nine-and-a-half to ten-and-a-half years. Defense counsel argued that the crime being committed in the victim's home should not be considered an aggravating factor, as it was also Motallebi's home.
However, the judge emphasized that a home is a place where one should feel secure, and rape in such a setting is particularly heinous.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
