PAIN OF VICTIMS OF T-SHIRT
RAPIST
'I could only see his eyes.
They were staring at me.
They were frightening.'
He terrorised women in Ang Mo Kio for more
than two years. Yesterday in the High Court, he was
sentenced to 30 years' jail and 24 strokes of the
cane. ANDRE YEO and JOYCELYN WONG profile the rapist
and speak to one of his victims
SHE had read about rapes through newspaper
articles.
It could never happen to her, Jenny (not her real
name) thought.
She was usually surrounded by friends. But all it
took was a moment alone for her to become the first
rape victim of the terror of Ang Mo Kio.
On Nov 27, 1999, at about 6.30 am, Jenny was in
the living room of her Ang Mo Kio flat. She was
asleep, but sensed that she was not alone.
Speaking in Mandarin, she said: "I opened my
eyes and saw a masked man coming out of my bedroom
and towards me. My first reaction was to ask him how
he had got in because I know I had locked the
door."
She never got the chance to ask any questions. Or
scream for help.
PUT A KNIFE TO HER THROAT
In a flash, Adrian Chew Eng Hin, 23, was kneeling
beside her, pressing her kitchen knife against her
throat. He warned her not to make any noise or he
would kill her.
"He asked me where I kept my money. I could
only shake my head and tell him that I didn't have
any," Jenny said.
"I was shaking so badly as I was scared. He
had my T-shirt wrapped around his head and I could
only see his eyes. They were staring straight at me.
They were frightening."
But her ordeal was just beginning.
"He used the knife to cut my panties and then
he raped me. It was over in about 15 minutes and it
seemed like forever..." said Jenny, her voice
breaking.
She did not elaborate further.
[...]
Gangster who prowled for victims
in his neighbourhood
HE had a pretty girlfriend in her late teens. He
had known her for several years.
She was 15 when they first met. They were
neighbours at the same Ang Mo Kio block, and she
often came to his three-room flat.
But a pretty girlfriend wasn't enough for Adrian
Chew Eng Hin.
During their short relationship, he let loose a
two-year reign of terror in the neighbourhood,
breaking into 12 HDB flats, raping two women,
attempting to rape another and sexually assaulting
two others.
His arrest ended their relationship.
Chew, 23, who is single and unemployed, was in the
High Court yesterday to face 25 counts of rape,
attempted rape, unnatural sex, outrage of modesty,
committing an obscene act, housebreaking,
housebreaking by night, robbery and trying to commit
robbery.
These acts took place in Ang Mo Kio between Jan
14, 1997 and Feb 9 this year.
His mother, a factory worker, 46, and sister, 19,
a polytechnic student, were not in court.
Wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt and grey
trousers, Chew bowed his head throughout the court
proceedings as the charges were read out to him in
Mandarin.
A powerfully-built man about 1.75 m tall, Chew has
previous convictions for harassment, drug consumption
and abetting illegal money-lending.
He committed the current offences while a deserter
from national service.
His lawyer, Ms Gloria James, said in mitigation
that Chew became a gangster and dropped out of school
after Secondary 3.
He then did odd jobs earning $600 to $700 a month,
giving $200 to his mother and $10 to his sister.
Chew's father, a Malaysian, left the family when
he was 11 and Chew has not heard from him since.
SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM
Chew claimed he was sexually abused by a relative
and his mistress when he was aged between six and 10.
But judicial commissioner Amarjeet Singh rejected
this as he did not see a connection between Chew's
background and his offences.
He added, speaking directly to Chew: "You are
a very dangerous young man who needs to be kept out
of circulation from the public for a very long, long
time."
[...]
