Public Prosecutor v Ravindran Annamalai: Rape, Attempted Murder, House-Trespass

In Public Prosecutor v Ravindran Annamalai, the High Court of Singapore convicted Ravindran Annamalai on charges of rape, attempted murder, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons, and house-trespass. The charges stemmed from an incident where Annamalai sexually assaulted and attempted to murder a domestic helper. The court sentenced Annamalai to a total of 27 years' imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane. Annamalai appealed against his conviction on the Amended Third Charge and against the sentence pronounced.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Guilty verdict for First, Second, Amended Third, Fourth and Fifth Charges.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Ravindran Annamalai was convicted of rape, attempted murder, and house-trespass. He received 27 years' imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Public ProsecutorProsecutionGovernment AgencyGuilty verdictWon
Charlene Tay Chia of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Sellakumaran Sellamuthoo of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Ravindran AnnamalaiDefendantIndividualConvictedLost

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Chan Seng OnnJudgeYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Charlene Tay ChiaAttorney-General’s Chambers
Sellakumaran SellamuthooAttorney-General’s Chambers
Kanagavijayan NadarajanKana & Co
Rajan SupramaniamHilborne & Co

4. Facts

  1. The accused entered the victim's flat after cutting off the electricity supply.
  2. The accused raped the victim in the master bedroom and the children's bedroom.
  3. The accused strangled the victim with his hands and a raffia string.
  4. The accused poked the victim's abdomen and cut her chin with scissors.
  5. The victim was found lying at the bottom of the block of flats.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Public Prosecutor v Ravindran Annamalai, Criminal Case No 19 of 2011, [2013] SGHC 77

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Accused committed the offences
Accused was arrested
Long statement recorded from the accused
Long statement recorded from the accused
Criminal Case No 19 of 2011
Prosecution’s Opening Address
Judgment delivered

7. Legal Issues

  1. Rape
    • Outcome: The court found that the accused committed rape on two separate occasions.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Lack of consent
      • Penetration
  2. Attempted Murder
    • Outcome: The court found that the accused attempted to murder the victim by strangulation.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Intention to cause death
      • Strangulation
  3. Voluntarily Causing Hurt
    • Outcome: The court found that the accused voluntarily caused hurt to the victim by poking her abdomen and cutting her chin with a pair of scissors.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Use of dangerous weapon
      • Infliction of injury
  4. House-Trespass
    • Outcome: The court found that the accused committed house-trespass by entering the flat with preparation for assaulting the victim.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Unlawful entry
      • Preparation for assault

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Imprisonment
  2. Caning

9. Cause of Actions

  • Rape
  • Attempted Murder
  • Voluntarily Causing Hurt
  • House-Trespass

10. Practice Areas

  • Criminal Law
  • Violent Crime

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Public Prosecutor v Robiul Bhoreshuddin MondalHigh CourtYes[2010] SGHC 10SingaporeReferred to by the prosecution to support their sentencing request for the rape charges.
Kanagasuntharam v Public ProsecutorN/AYes[1991] 2 SLR(R) 874SingaporeThe defence relied on this case to urge the court not to order any two of the sentences for the first three charges to run consecutively because that would offend the totality principle.
Public Prosecutor v Iryan bin Abdul Karim and othersN/AYes[2010] 2 SLR 15SingaporeThe prosecution relied on this case for the Fourth Charge of voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Penal Code (Chapter 224) section 375(1)(a)Singapore
Penal Code (Chapter 224) section 375(3)(a)((i)Singapore
Penal Code (Chapter 224) section 307(1)Singapore
Penal Code (Chapter 224) section 324Singapore
Penal Code (Chapter 224) section 452Singapore
Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed) s 307(1)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Rape
  • Attempted murder
  • House-trespass
  • Strangulation
  • Voluntarily causing hurt
  • Consent
  • Penetration
  • Raffia string
  • Scissors
  • Domestic helper

15.2 Keywords

  • Rape
  • Attempted murder
  • House-trespass
  • Singapore
  • Criminal law

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Criminal Law95
Penal Code90
Offences80
House-trespass75
Evidence70
Criminal Procedure60
Public Prosecutor50
Criminal force and assault45
Consent of Public Prosecutor40
Amendment of Charges35
Domestic Maid Abuse30
Criminal Misappropriation25
Dishonest Taking20

16. Subjects

  • Criminal Law
  • Sexual Offences
  • Violent Crime