SINGAPORE - A 49-year-old self-styled spiritual "master" on Tuesday (March 22) admitted raping a 35-year-old woman who had sought help from him to get rid of "ghosts" in her flat.

Ow Siew Hoe, also known as Ow-Yong Siew Hoe, will be sentenced at a later date as his lawyer is waiting for various medical reports to make his mitigation plea.

The High Court heard that in February 2014, the woman, a Malaysian who is married to a Singaporean, began to believe that there were ghosts in her flat, especially after her pets started behaving unusually.

The sales assistant suspected that the supernatural presence may have something to do with her father-in-law and his girlfriend, who moved into the flat the previous month.

She consulted a tarot card reader, who confirmed her suspicions and warned her not to eat food given to her by her father-in-law and girlfriend.

After the tarot reading, she remained uncomfortable and confided in her husband, but he was sceptical. She sought advice from her mother-in-law, who told her that her sister knew a "powerful master" - Ow - who can help her.

On Feb 20, 2014, after checking her flat and asking for the floor plan to analyse the fengshui, Ow told her there were "dirty things" in the flat but he could help her get rid of them.

Over the next few days, Ow called the woman, telling her that the matter was becoming more serious and persuaded her to go to his flat to collect "protective" items.

On the afternoon of Feb 25, 2014, when she went to his Bukit Batok flat, Ow told the woman to drink a cup of "holy water". When she experienced discomfort, he said the "holy water" was working.

As the woman became drowsy and giddy, Ow led her to a room, took off her clothes and raped her. She tried to push him away but she was too weak to do so.

After the rape, the woman met her husband for dinner but did not tell him what happened as she was confused. That night, she called Ow and asked him why he had raped her.

Ow told her that he had fought with two ghosts in her flat and hurt them. He claimed that he had to use his sperm to save the ghosts as the woman and her husband would otherwise die. He told her that he was forced to rape her.

After hanging up the phone, the woman blamed herself for her stupidity and felt ashamed about what had happened.

The next day, Ow called her and told her to delete evidence of the phone calls between them. But she did not.

On Feb 27, after talking to a couple of friends, she made a police report. Ow was arrested the next day.

Traces of Dormicum, a sleeping pill, was found on a stone pestle and mortar in his flat. Packs of Xanax, a sedative, were also seized from his flat.