A former Sentosa beach patrol officer was yesterday convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a drunk partygoer on Siloso Beach.
The High Court found that the prosecution had proved its case against Pram Nair, 26, on one charge each of rape and sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt. He will be sentenced at a later date.
The woman, then a 20-year-old relief teacher, was attending a party at Wave House, a club and restaurant located at the beach, with a female friend on the night of May 5, 2012.
She had drunk several shots of whisky and orange liqueur before Nair approached her group at the bar and started chatting with them.
Nair suggested playing a game that involved him pouring liqueur from the bottle directly into the victim's mouth for 20 seconds - as she had turned 20 the week before.
After gulping down alcohol for 20 seconds straight, the victim began experiencing memory blackouts.
As the night wore on, her friend, realising she could not stand without support and could not finish her sentences, decided it was time to leave.
The friend went to get the victim's bag at another section of the club but when she returned, the victim and Nair were gone.
During the 15-day trial from last August to April this year, the victim said she was "wasted" and could not remember what happened after her friend went to get her bag.
She testified that she woke up on the beach from the pain of Nair raping her. She cried and repeatedly told him "no" but was too weak to push him off.
Two other partygoers walking on the beach called the police when they saw Nair on top of the victim as she tried to push him away.
Meanwhile, the victim's friend went looking for her and found her lying on the sand. Nair, who was there, told her he had found the victim at the spot naked. He walked away but was later arrested nearby.
During his trial, Nair denied that the victim was drunk and contended that any sexual acts between them were consensual.
He said the victim flirted with him that night, telling him that she "kinda liked him" and asked him to "please take me away from all the guys". At the beach, she agreed to have sex with him but he eventually abandoned the idea as he could not get an erection, he said.
While she was on the stand, the victim became tearful as she spoke about how, three years later, even though she had moved on and has a happy life, there are still times that she feels "disgusted" with herself.
After the rape, she was terrified of getting HIV and went through "hell" but her family was there for her.
"I've never been more sorry to my parents because they raised me up really well; and because I was disobedient... it brought so much pain that there's a long time after that when I couldn't even lie in bed without feeling like ripping my own skin off," she told the court.
