Public Prosecutor v Tan En Jie Norvan: Sexual Offences & Penal Code

In Public Prosecutor v Tan En Jie Norvan, the High Court of Singapore heard a case involving four charges of sexual assault against Tan En Jie Norvan. The complainant alleged that the incidents occurred at a flat on December 26, 2016. The court, presided over by Justice Ang Cheng Hock, found the accused guilty of all charges based on the complainant's testimony, forensic evidence, and the accused's inconsistent statements.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court

1.2 Outcome

Accused found guilty of all charges.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Tan En Jie Norvan faces sexual assault charges. The court found him guilty based on the complainant's testimony and forensic evidence.

1.7 Decision Date

14 July 2022

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Public Prosecutor	Prosecution	Government Agency	Guilty verdict on all charges	Won	Ng Yiwen, Sheryl Yeo Su Hui, Niranjan Ranjakunalan
Tan En Jie Norvan	Defense	Individual	Guilty verdict on all charges	Lost	Amarjit Singh s/o Hari Singh

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Ang Cheng Hock	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Ng Yiwen	Attorney-General’s Chambers
Sheryl Yeo Su Hui	Attorney-General’s Chambers
Niranjan Ranjakunalan	Attorney-General’s Chambers
Amarjit Singh s/o Hari Singh	Amarjit Sidhu Law Corporation

4. Facts

The complainant and Julniee went out drinking on Christmas night and returned to the Flat at around 5.42am.
The complainant was feeling intoxicated and vomited in the toilet.
The complainant alleges that the accused sexually assaulted her multiple times while she was in a vulnerable state.
The accused admits to helping the complainant in the toilet but denies the sexual assault.
The complainant made a police report on December 27, 2016.
Semen matching the accused's DNA was found on the complainant's T-shirt.
Julniee initially tried to dissuade the complainant from making a police report.

5. Formal Citations

Public Prosecutor v Tan En Jie Norvan, Criminal Case No 33 of 2019, [2022] SGHC 166

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2016-12-26	Sexual assault occurred at a flat.
2019-01-01	Criminal Case No 33 of 2019 filed.
2020-09-29	Trial began.
2020-09-30	Trial continues.
2020-10-01	Trial continues.
2020-10-02	Trial continues.
2021-09-13	Trial continues.
2021-09-14	Trial continues.
2021-09-15	Trial continues.
2021-09-16	Trial continues.
2021-09-28	Trial continues.
2021-09-29	Trial continues.
2021-10-01	Trial continues.
2021-12-13	Trial continues.
2021-12-14	Trial continues.
2021-12-28	Julniee gave investigation statement to ASP Tai.
2022-04-08	Trial continues.
2022-04-28	Julniee gave further investigation statement to ASP Tai.
2022-07-15	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Sexual Assault
- Outcome: The court found that the accused committed the acts of sexual assault as alleged.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Lack of consent
  - Penetration
  - Criminal force
Credibility of Witnesses
- Outcome: The court found the complainant to be a credible witness and impeached the credit of Julniee.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Inconsistent statements
  - Demeanor of witness
  - Impeachment of credit
Sufficiency of Evidence
- Outcome: The court found the evidence presented by the prosecution to be sufficient to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Corroboration
  - Unusually convincing testimony
  - Forensic evidence
- Related Cases:
  - [2012] 3 SLR 34
  - [2008] 4 SLR(R) 686
  - [2008] 1 SLR(R) 601

8. Remedies Sought

Criminal prosecution
Imprisonment
Fine
Caning

9. Cause of Actions

Sexual Assault
Non-consensual sexual penetration
Use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty

10. Practice Areas

Criminal Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Teo Keng Pong v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[1996] 2 SLR(R) 890	Singapore	Cited to support the principle that kissing and touching a breast without consent constitutes criminal force with intent to outrage modesty.
AOF v Public Prosecutor	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2012] 3 SLR 34	Singapore	Cited for the standard of 'unusually convincing' testimony required for conviction based solely on a complainant's testimony.
XP v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2008] 4 SLR(R) 686	Singapore	Cited for the emphasis on the sufficiency of the complainant’s testimony and the threshold for preferring it over the accused’s evidence.
Public Prosecutor v Mohammed Liton Mohammed Syeed Mallik	High Court	Yes	[2008] 1 SLR(R) 601	Singapore	Cited for the requirement that the testimony, when weighed against the overall backdrop of the available facts and circumstances, contains that ring of truth which leaves the court satisfied that no reasonable doubt exists in favour of the accused
Public Prosecutor v Yue Roger Jr	High Court	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 749	Singapore	Cited for the principle that it cannot be supposed that victims of sexual offences will act in a stereotypical way.
Ilechukwu Uchechukwu Chukwudi v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2021] 1 SLR 67	Singapore	Cited for the principle that a court may justifiably infer that it is an afterthought and untrue, unless the court is persuaded that there are good reasons for his omission to mention it earlier
Kwek Seow Hock v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2011] 3 SLR 157	Singapore	Cited for the principle that an exculpatory fact or circumstance also has more credibility if it was disclosed to an investigating officer at the earliest opportunity after arrest

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Penal Code, Chapter 224 (2008 Rev Ed) Section 376(1)(a)	Singapore
Penal Code, Chapter 224 (2008 Rev Ed) Section 376(2)(a)	Singapore
Penal Code, Chapter 224 (2008 Rev Ed) Section 354(1)	Singapore
Penal Code, Chapter 224 (2008 Rev Ed) Section 350	Singapore
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed) s 147(1)	Singapore
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed) s 147(3)	Singapore
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed) s 157(c)	Singapore
Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed) s 22(2)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Sexual assault
Penetration
Consent
Criminal force
Outrage of modesty
Intoxication
DNA evidence
Witness credibility
Investigation statement
WhatsApp messages

15.2 Keywords

Sexual assault
Rape
Penal Code
Singapore
Criminal Law
Evidence
DNA
Credibility

16. Subjects

Criminal Law
Sexual Offences
Evidence

17. Areas of Law

Criminal Law
Sexual Offences
Evidence Law