Man took part in roadside attack, shared video of stripped victim

A man sided with his niece’s estranged husband and took part in a roadside group attack against a man suspected of having an extramarital affair with the woman.

The victim, identified in court documents as PW4, also had his underwear and trousers pulled down in public before the woman’s husband filmed a video of his private parts. The clip was then shared with PW4’s contacts.

On Aug 29, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin urged the court to sentence the uncle, now 55, to at least 5½ years’ jail and a fine of $2,000, stressing the man had asked his accomplice to record and send the clip to others.

Defence lawyer Satwant Singh pleaded for his client, identified in court documents as A1, to be given up to 14 months’ jail and a fine of $2,000.

He told District Judge Kok Shu-En that the uncle had joined the attack at a much later stage and that the offences were committed in “the heat of the moment”.

After a trial, A1 was convicted of one count each of criminal intimidation and instigating the distribution of intimate images.

A1 had earlier pleaded guilty to other charges including two counts of assault and will be sentenced on Oct 8. All parties involved in this case cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victims’ identities.

Three other people – A1’s son, the son’s girlfriend and a fourth offender, who was the niece’s estranged husband – were dealt with in court earlier.

The niece, identified as V1, and her estranged husband, 42 were undergoing divorce proceedings at the time of the offences.

Shortly before the attack took place, all four offenders suspected that V1, then 37, was having an affair with PW4, who was also 37 then.

At around 10pm on Feb 7, 2020, they gathered near the woman’s home and saw her entering PW4’s car. They then decided to follow the car in different vehicles.

Court documents did not state if V1 was indeed having an affair with PW4.

PW4 was heading towards the Woodlands Checkpoint when the husband manoeuvred his car so that it was directly behind the man’s vehicle.

A1’s 24-year-old son, who is V1’s cousin, stopped his own car in front of the PW4’s vehicle, trapping it. A1’s son and the husband then alighted to confront PW4. A1’s son also told his girlfriend, 23, to record the incident with her mobile phone and she complied.

The husband ordered PW4 to step out of his car, and the latter complied. After that, V1, PW4 and the attackers went to a grass patch beside the road. There, the husband and the cousin rained blows on PW4 while shouting vulgarities at him.

While the attack was ongoing, the cousin’s girlfriend provided the necessary directions to A1 for him to locate them. A1 arrived at the scene soon after.

In his submissions, DPP Bin told the court: “He could have put a stop to the fight... Yet he immediately joined the fray and became one of the central figures in a heinous, brutal attack on PW4.

“He stomped on PW4 numerous times. He punched and slapped PW4. He twisted PW4’s shoulder to its breaking point, causing PW4 to scream in pain. He continued attacking for half an hour.”

A1 also attacked V1 by slapping and kicking her.

The attackers then decided to humiliate PW4. While A1’s son restrained him, the other two attackers pulled down the man’s trousers and underwear.

The DPP said that A1 then directed the husband to record and send an explicit video of PW4 to others. The husband used PW4’s mobile phone to record a video of the latter’s private parts.

According to court documents, A1 had said, “take his picture” while pointing at PW4, who was in a half-naked state. The DPP told the court that A1 also said: “Send to all his contacts... Find group, quick... Send all to group.”

The husband sent the clip to more than 500 of PW4’s contacts over messaging platform WhatsApp. They included the victim’s colleagues, friends and neighbours.

V1 alerted the police and officers, who arrived and told the attackers to stop behaving in a rowdy manner. Instead of complying, the trio shouted insults at V1. They stopped yelling at the woman only when the officers arrested them.

Court documents did not state what happened next, but PW4 was later found with injuries that included fractures to his face and right collarbone. He incurred more than $1,300 in medical bills, said DPP Bin.