A Singapore court docket has sentenced a Japanese man to jail and caning for the “brutal and merciless” rape of a college pupil in 2019.
The 38-year-old hairdresser, Ikko Kita, is ready to be the primary Japanese nationwide to be caned within the metropolis state, the Japanese embassy in Singapore instructed BBC Information.
He will likely be caned 20 instances and likewise jailed for 17 and a half years.
Caning is a controversial however broadly used type of corporal punishment in Singapore, and is obligatory for offences like vandalism, theft and drug trafficking.
In keeping with court docket paperwork, Kita met the girl at Clarke Quay, a well-liked nightlife district, in December 2019.
The girl, who was then 20, had not identified Kita earlier than. She was intoxicated when he took her to his flat and raped her.
He additionally filmed the act on his cell phone and later despatched it to a buddy.
The sufferer managed to go away the house afterwards and reported the rape to police later that day.
Kita was arrested on the identical day and has been in police custody since.
Police discovered two movies of the rape on his cell phone.
Justice Aedit Abdullah known as the assault “brutal and merciless”, including that the sufferer was “susceptible, clearly drunk, and incapable of taking care of herself”.
The choose additionally dismissed the defence’s argument that the sufferer had allegedly given an preliminary indication of consent to intercourse.
The sentencing has been broadly reported in Japan and has additionally been trending on social media.
Some customers have expressed shock at the usage of caning in fashionable Singapore, although there have additionally been some celebrating the sentence.
One stated that “in Japan, in the case of sexual assault, society and the police make victims really feel responsible, and the punishment is much too lenient”.
Singapore says caning acts as a deterrent to violent crime, although some rights teams say there is no such thing as a clear proof of this.
Caning in Singapore entails being struck with a picket stick on the again of the thigh, which might go away everlasting scars.
In keeping with rights group the Transformative Justice Collective, the cane measures about 1.5m (4.9ft) and no more than 1.27cm in diameter.
The observe drew worldwide consideration in 1994 when 19-year-old US citizen Michael Fay was given six strokes of the cane for vandalism.
Regardless of an attraction from US President Invoice Clinton, Singapore authorities went forward with the caning however gave Fay a lowered variety of strokes.
