Samir Rukiman, age 28, has received a jail sentence of 9 years eight months after assaulting a 17 year old. He took the victim, who is now 19 years old and cannot be named due to a court order, on a first and last date that resulted in violence and sexual assault.

On Thursday, June 28, Mr. Rukiman pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault, one count of molestation and one count of the possession of methamphetamine. He was sentenced at the State Courts to nine years and eight months’ jail time as well as four caning strokes.

A rope access technician, Mr. Rukiman faced one related charge considered for molesting and voluntarily causing hurt to the victim, in addition to several unrelated charges, which include committing mischief and the possession of obscene films.

The then 17-year-old girl first met Mr. Rukiman over Facebook on May 1, 2017. The two had never met, but he asked her to add him as a friend, and they began to chat regularly. They met for a first date at Waterway Point on May 7, after agreeing to meet for a movie.

When the movie ended they went to a barbecue pit at Block 119A Rivervale Drive, and talked into the night. At 2 am, Mr. Rukiman saw a photo of a man with the girl on the wallpaper of the girl’s phone. When asked, the girl said that the man was her former boyfriend, for whom she still had romantic feelings.

This angered Mr. Rukiman, who retreated into silence, alarming the girl. She then texted her friend for help, saying she had begun to get uncomfortable with Mr. Rukiman’s behavior.

Mr. Rukiman left her alone for a while, and when he returned she was on the phone with her friend. She became frightened and told her friend that Mr. Rukiman might slap her, after which Mr. Rukiman began to yell at her.

He then proceeded to punch the girl in the face repeatedly, and then destroyed her cell phone by hurling it to the ground. The girl, even while she was weeping, tried to get Mr. Rukiman to calm down.

After a while he hugged her, trying to apologize and comfort her, and he touched her on the buttocks. She pushed him away, but Mr. Rukiman ended up forcing her to perform oral sex on him awhile later.

He walked away at 5 am, and the girl hailed a passer-by to help her. A call was made to the police, which led to Mr. Rukiman’s arrest.

The prosecution in the case had asked for 4 caning strokes plus a nine-year, ten-month jail sentence for Mr. Rukiman.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong said that he had exploited the girl’s immaturity and vulnerability, and what’s more, forcibly outraged the girl’s modesty. She added that Mr. Rukiman caused the girl trauma and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.

She said, “(The victim) was shocked that the accused had suddenly changed from a nice guy to an angry one and was fearful of the violent outburst. She did not dare to run away or shout as she thought that this may trigger further violence.”

Mr. Rukiman has a prior conviction for violent crimes in 2013.

Since he had entered an early guilty plea, his lawyer asked for a seven year, six months sentence, along with four caning strokes. However, District Judge Ng Peng Hong pointed out that Mr. Rukiman’s offense was serious, since he had taken advantage of someone who was vulnerable.

Had Mr. Rukiman committed a sexual assault by penetration, he could have had a jail sentence of as long as 20 years, plus caning and a fine.