Bar owner of Indian origin sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping a minor in Singapore

Singapore:

An Indian-origin bar owner from Singapore was sentenced to 13 years and four weeks in prison and nine strokes of the cane on Monday for raping a 17-year-old runaway girl after allowing her to work for him.

Raj Kumar Bala, 42, was found guilty of rape and sexual assault of the victim and pleaded guilty to a third count of harbouring a runaway under the Children and Young Persons Act, Channel News Asia reported.

According to the broadcaster’s report, defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said his client had asked for bail pending an appeal.

The court heard that the victim was 17 years old in February 2020 when she escaped from the Singapore Girls’ Home.

Through another runaway who worked there, she learned of a job offer at Bala’s Don Bar and Bistro on Dunlop Street in the Little India district of hotels, motels and restaurants.

The other runaway was also sexually abused by Bala; however, the charges have been dropped for now.

The victim went to the bar for the interview and met Bala, who described the job responsibilities, which included serving customers and preparing drinks.

He offered her the role and said she could stay in the bar with other runaways.

The victim worked at the bar for a few days, but police received a tip-off about people who had gone into hiding and were working there, and in the early hours of February 22, 2020, they searched the place.

The victim fled with another girl to escape the raid before being caught by Bala.

He drove them to his apartment complex and told them they could stay there before drinking alcohol with the girls.

He raped the victim when she was heavily drunk and also had sexual acts with the other girl.

The victim left the apartment and turned herself in to the house in July 2020, but did not tell her social worker that she had been raped until August 2020.

Judge Mavis Chionh found that the victim had suffered “significant personal harm” and blamed herself for getting into the drunken state that led to her rape.

Her testimony in court, which was confirmed by her former boyfriend, showed how the trauma from her past was resurfacing and having a negative impact on her well-being, the judge found.

She said Bala knew the victim was young and on the run from police and that she depended on him for income and accommodation.

Bala still has other charges pending and has not yet made a decision on what to do with them, the report said.

According to a report in the Straits Times, the bar owner faces 22 further charges in connection with five other victims, mainly for sexual offences. These charges are still pending in court.

He is accused of raping and molesting a victim identified in court documents as B1, raping and sexually assaulting a victim identified as B5, and raping, molesting and threatening another victim identified as B6.

He is also accused of sexually penetrating a minor under 16 years of age (identified as B7) and harassing and intimidating another victim (identified as B8). PTI GS RC

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