Imran Syafiq Mohamed Rashid, now 37, was sentenced on Tuesday to 19 and a half years in jail, 12 strokes of the cane, and banned from driving for a long time. His crimes happened in May 2022 when he raped an elderly woman and then threatened to kill her whole family if she reported him.
The prosecutor said that Imran committed a “staggering number” of offenses over two years before the rape incident. He pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including rape, drug offenses, theft, and intimidation, with 31 other charges being taken into account during sentencing.
His criminal activities often involved ignoring the law and running away:
- Ran Away: In May 2020, he ran away from a community supervision center for about a month.
- Continued Stealing: Even after being released on police bail, he stole numerous bank cards and an identity card, and was found with drug tools.
- Escalated Violence: He ran away again for over a year, starting in September 2020, committing 33 offenses during this time. This included assaulting his girlfriend four times, which involved kicking her face and punching her.
- Peeping and Driving: He also peeped at a 14-year-old girl using a toilet and repeatedly drove or rode a motorcycle without a valid license, causing damage to a railing.
- Deceiving Companies: He even used a stolen ID and driving license to trick BlueSG into letting him rent their vehicles.
The most serious crime happened early on May 13, 2022, when Imran was frustrated because he couldn’t get any cash. He broke into a unit by climbing through a third-floor toilet window and stole a handbag with over S$2,000 worth of valuables.
After that, he went to a nearby exercise corner where he saw a 61-year-old woman doing her routine exercises on an elliptical machine.
He went up to her and asked if he could share the machine. When she kindly agreed and stepped down, Imran grabbed her from behind and dragged her into the bushes. He raped the woman sometime between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Before leaving, he threatened her severely, saying: “You don’t report police. If you report police, I will kill your whole family!”
The victim was terrified and in pain. She went home and told her husband what happened. Although she tried to stop him because she was afraid of Imran’s threat, her husband immediately called the police. He stopped her from showering to make sure they could collect forensic evidence.
Later that day, Imran was arrested, and his urine tested positive for two different drugs.
The prosecutor argued that Imran’s terrible conduct needed to be met with a harsh punishment, or he would be “making a mockery of the law” and not be “sufficiently punished despite having detrimentally affected the lives of so many.” They asked for a sentence of over 15 years in jail, a fine, caning, and a driving ban. The court agreed with a very stiff sentence.
