Auxiliary cop abetted rape of girlfriend twice by organising threesome with male stranger

SINGAPORE - During bondage sex with her boyfriend of two years, a woman who was bound and blindfolded found out a male stranger was also taking part in their tryst.

It later turned out to be a stranger that her boyfriend had met online and invited to take part in a threesome without her knowledge nor consent.

And that it had happened once previously, with her completely oblivious about what was going on.

The boyfriend, a 27-year-old auxiliary police officer, was sentenced to 23 years and 11 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Monday (Nov 26) after he admitted that he had abetted the rape of his girlfriend, also 27, first in April 2016 and a second time in August 2016.

The High Court heard that the couple, who started dating in November 2014, began experimenting with soft bondage practices during sex.

The accused, who became interested in such practices after watching the movie 50 Shades Of Grey, cajoled the woman into trying new things to "spice up" their relationship, the court heard.

The woman allowed herself to be physically bound during sex because she trusted him and wanted to please him, said court papers. She also relented when he insisted on recording videos of their sexual encounters.

But she drew the line when he floated the idea of having a threesome.

In 2015, the accused, who used microblogging app Tumblr to view pornography, contacted another user, Srihari Mahendran, 22, on the platform.

The two then traded lurid details and photographs of their "sexual conquests", according to court documents.

The accused told Srihari about his sexual fantasy of watching another man having sex with his girlfriend and came up with a plan for the two of them to have a threesome with her, without her knowing.

On the night of April 29, 2016, after the couple checked into a hotel room, the accused tied the woman's hands with a rope and blindfolded her.

She thought it was simply part of their usual soft-bondage play, unaware that her boyfriend had arranged for Srihari to join them.

The accused let Srihari into the room and told him to undress and wait in the bathroom. The accused even turned on the tap to create the impression that he was using the toilet.

After a short while, the accused had sex with the woman before gesturing Srihari to take over. Court papers stated that the accused even moaned to reinforce the illusion that he was the one carrying out the sex acts.

In August 2016, the woman arranged for a staycation at a hotel to celebrate the accused's birthday. The accused told Srihari to "standby" and sent him titillating photos of the victim.

On the night of Aug 6, the couple had sex at the hotel and fell asleep. In the early hours of Aug 7, while the victim was sleeping, the accused went to the lobby and brought Srihari to their room. The accused then tied the woman's hands and blindfolded her.

The woman realised that something was amiss: Someone was holding her waist and having sex with her but at the same time, her blindfold was being adjusted.

When she managed to free her hands and remove her blindfold, she was shocked that apart from her boyfriend, there was another person in the room.

She reached for her spectacles, but the accused tried to block her while the other man left the room.

Confronting the accused, the woman realised that he had used his laptop to record the episode. After viewing the videos of a stranger having sex with her, she told the accused: "This is clearly rape. Do you know what you have done?"

The accused apologised and begged her not to report the case to the police as it would destroy his future, but she demanded that he call the other man back to the hotel.

The woman then texted a friend, who advised her to leave the room.

At the hotel lobby, the victim told the receptionist she could have been raped and asked to see surveillance footage near her room. At this time, Srihari walked into the lobby and was detained by hotel staff after the victim pointed him out as the man who had raped her.

Meanwhile, the accused, who was still in the room, deleted the videos from his laptop. He also sent text messages to the victim, begging her not to report the matter as he wanted to "build a life" with her.

But the woman decided to call the police, and both the accused and Srihari were arrested at the hotel.

On Monday, the accused pleaded guilty to two charges of abetment of rape and one charge of abetment of sexual assault by penetration.

Another 54 charges, including unrelated offences for making obscene films and insulting the modesty of two other women, were taken into consideration.

The case against Srihari is pending, and his trial is scheduled for January next year.

The accused's lawyer, Mr Mohamed Baiross, said his client was willing to testify as a prosecution witness.

"What he has done was heinous, was reprehensible and deserves condemnation of society," said the lawyer, who asked for 20 years' jail.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lau pressed for 25 years' jail, arguing that he "selfishly prioritised his sexual gratification at the victim's expense, and flagrantly breached the trust she had reposed in him".

Judicial Commissioner Audrey Lim granted the accused's request to defer the start of his sentence on Jan 3. Bail was increased from $50,000 to $80,000.

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