Singapore Court Acquits Man and Woman in Sexual Assault Case; Prosecution Appeals
A Singapore judge acquitted an elderly man and his then-lover of all 28 sexual assault charges against the woman's teenage daughter, citing inconsistent evidence and reasonable doubt. The acquittals were based partly on forensic timeline analysis showing alleged abuse could not have occurred when prosecution claimed. The prosecution has announced it will appeal the decision.
Justice Pang Khang Chau acquitted a 75-year-old former temple masseur and a 66-year-old woman of all charges in September 2025, with detailed written reasons released in June 2026. The prosecution had alleged the mother conspired with her lover to sexually assault her daughter between 2012 and 2017, including during massages and ritual showers. The judge rejected key prosecution allegations by establishing through multiple witness testimony that a massage bed critical to the alleged crimes could not have been delivered to the flat until late 2013, contradicting prosecution claims of abuse dating to 2012. The complainant, now 25, had filed a police report in November 2017 leading to the arrests. The prosecution's appeal indicates disagreement with the judge's evidentiary conclusions and credibility assessments.
What's missing
The sources do not provide the judge's reasoning regarding the ritual shower allegations (post-2017), the pornography charges, or the specific inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence that led to acquittal on those counts. The full scope of the judge's written judgment appears to have been truncated in the provided excerpts.
What different sources said
- CNACenter
Court gives detailed reasons for acquitting man and lover in ritual shower sex case; prosecution to appeal
- Channel NewsAsiaCenter
Court gives detailed reasons for acquitting man and lover in ritual shower sex case; prosecution to appeal
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