Indian-origin bar owner on trial for allegedly raping teen in Singapore

The court was told that B1 had been sexually assaulted by Bala, but since she was a runaway and pregnant, she continued to seek shelter at the bar.

Singapore: A 41-year-old Indian-origin bar owner went on trial at the Singapore High Court for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl who worked for him in 2020, a media report said.

Raj Kumar Bala molested and raped the victim between the night of February 21, 2020 and the early morning of the next day at a rented flat, The Straits Times reported, citing prosecutors. Of the 13 witnesses who had lined up to prove Bala’s crime, prosecution presented two witnesses identified as B1 and B2 in the court documents.

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B1 and B2, like the victim, had run away from a Girl’s Home and were staying and working at Bala’s bar on Dunlop Street in Little India.

The court was told that B1 had been sexually assaulted by Bala, but since she was a runaway and pregnant, she continued to seek shelter at the bar.

The alleged victim was hired by Bala at B2’s behest, and on the same day his bar was raided by the police after an acquaintance of the runaways made a report that they were working there.

Bala picked up the runaways and drove them to a rented flat where he sexually assaulted the alleged victim in a drunken stupor. Prosecutors told the court that B1 witnessed Bala raping and molesting the victim, who was too drunk to fend him off. The victim told B2 the next day that she had been raped and left the flat where she returned only once to collect her pay.

She eventually returned to the Girl’s Home on July 20, 2020, and narrated her ordeal to a case worker from the Ministry of Social and Family Development on August 5, 2020. According to Singapore law, if convicted of rape, one can be jailed for up to 20 years and also be fined or caned. If convicted of molesting the victim, a person can be jailed for up to two years, fined and caned.