04 Jan 2011
Source: The Straits Times
Alleged victim’s mum breaks down while testifying
A WOMAN broke down on the witness stand yesterday while testifying at the trial of a man accused of raping her daughter.
The 51-year-old housewife was recounting the events of Feb 12, 2009, when she lost her composure. She was one of six witnesses called to the stand at the start of the trial of Ong Mingwee.
The 28-year-old accused, who helps out in his father’s minimart business, claimed trial on the charge of raping the then 22-year-old woman at his Toa Payoh North flat in the early hours of that day.
Yesterday, Ong was more than an hour late for his hearing.
His lawyer, Ms Goh Siok Leng, tried calling him, but to no avail. She then spoke to Ong’s father, who said he had left home.
When the court convened at around 10.15am, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim gave the benefit of the doubt to Ong, giving him 30 minutes to appear. He arrived at about 10.40am and counsel apologised on his behalf.
The alleged victim’s mother gave evidence that she was awakened by a call from her daughter, who was crying and calling out for her.
The housewife said she could not understand what her daughter was saying – and then the line got cut.
She called her daughter back immediately, and a man answered, identified himself as Ken and said he was a friend. He said her daughter had had too much to drink – she had gone pubbing with her friends the night before – and assured the witness that he would take her home.
“I went down to wait for her. I waited for 20 minutes, and she still had not come back,” said the witness. “So I called her handphone and she answered. She was saying: ‘Mummy, mummy, can you please come and get me?’
“I said: ‘Sure. Where are you now? I will come and get you right now.’ She said she did not know where she was. She said that he wouldn’t let her go unless she had sex with him. Then the line was cut off,” she continued.
She tried calling her daughter, but the phone had been switched off. Worried, she woke her two other children up and told them that their sister was in trouble.
Through her daughter’s friends, she managed to get Ken’s mobile phone number, but he did not answer his phone. Her two children continued calling their sister but got no response.
The mother then made a police report and called her husband, who was then in Kuala Lumpur, to tell him what had happened.
She said she did not know how many times she called Ken before he finally answered to say that her daughter was on her way home. He claimed that she could not call back earlier as her mobile phone’s battery was flat.
“I asked him: ‘Are you sure she is coming home?’ I asked him to just let her go,” said the mother, before breaking down.
She said Ken assured her that her daughter was indeed on her way home, but refused to give her his address. It was then around 6am.
Just then, her daughter came home on a motorcycle that had a sidecar, driven by a 60-year-old sweeper who gave her a lift. He had found her at a side road beside Block 203, Toa Payoh North.
The woman said that her daughter’s hair was in a mess, and she appeared “very frightened” and was crying when she ran towards her and hugged her.
She took her to her room and asked if he had forced her. She nodded her head.
The maximum penalty for rape is a jail term of up to 20 years. The offender may also be fined or caned.
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