14 Years for Sexual Assault of Minor in Singapore:
An Indian national received a sentence of over 14 years in prison in Singapore on Thursday, July 31, 2025, for two sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl.
Ramalingam Selvasekaran, 58, was sentenced by the Singapore High Court. Although he is over 50 and will not face caning, his total prison time of 14 years, three months, and two weeks reflects the penalty equivalent to 15 strokes of the cane, as reported by The Straits Times.
On July 7, he was found guilty of three charges: one count of rape and two counts of outrage of modesty, after a trial in which he represented himself.
During the sentencing proceedings on July 30, Ramalingam asserted his innocence and indicated plans to appeal his conviction. After receiving his sentence, he was granted bail of SGD 80,000 pending appeal, but attempted to negotiate the conditions of his bail with the Judge.
Justice Aidan Xu denied Ramalingam’s requests to remove his electronic monitoring device and to skip regular check-ins at the Police Cantonment Complex. He also contested Deputy Public Prosecutor Susanna Yim’s proposal to return SGD 8 in cash to the victim, claiming that the money had been taken from his shop. The Judge instructed the prosecution to investigate this matter.
The assaults occurred on October 28, 2021, between approximately 4:50 PM and 5:05 PM at Ramalingam’s provision store in Jurong West, Singapore. The girl had visited the store and returned later to purchase ice cream.
Prosecutors alleged that Ramalingam lured the girl to a secluded part of the store, where he assaulted her. The girl managed to seek assistance from a passerby who called the police.
At the conclusion of the trial, which started on January 16, Ramalingam argued that the girl’s testimony could not be trusted, claiming it was improbable she would approach a stranger for help instead of someone she knew. He also pointed out the absence of police camera footage from her return home after the incident and claimed he could not have committed the assault due to erectile dysfunction, noting no DNA was found on her body.
Justice Xu, however, concluded that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Judge found no significant weaknesses in the girl’s testimony, stating that her lack of immediate action post-assault was understandable given her young age.
Justice Xu also highlighted inconsistencies in Ramalingam’s own statements, in which he admitted to hugging and kissing the victim, contradicting his later denials of the charges. The absence of camera footage did not weaken the credibility of the victim’s evidence, the judge stated.
While acknowledging Ramalingam’s erectile dysfunction, the judge noted that an expert witness for the prosecution explained how oral rape could still occur. The lack of his DNA on the victim did not negate her evidence of the sexual assault, according to the judge.
Published on July 31, 2025, 07:27 AM IST
Original Source – Full Article
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