A foreign man stood trial on Tuesday in Singapore for raping his wife, making it the first such case since the city state fully repealed marital immunity for rape in 2020.
The 42-year-old man, who lived apart from his wife, also a foreigner, was accused of forcing her to spend the night at his residence and raping her in November 2020, before taking her back to her place.
He claimed the sex was consensual, The Strait Times reported.
But the prosecution argues that her consent was invalid due to her fear of injury. It was alleged that prior to the sexual acts, the man had physically assaulted her and threatened her with a metal rod.
This case is noted as the first marital rape trial since the immunity for husbands was abolished starting Jan. 1, 2020.
A gag order has been placed on the case, preventing the disclosure of the couple’s identities or details about the location, according to Channel News Asia.
Both the accused and his wife are foreigners working in Singapore. The woman lives in employer-provided housing and the man elsewhere.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor, Alan Loh, said the couple, who had previously met for consensual encounters in a hotel, experienced a conflict when the man attempted to give her a gift, which she rejected.
This led to a quarrel and subsequent physical altercation at her place, before he took her to his place, Loh said, as cited by The Strait Times.
She reported the incident to the police after returning to her place, and he was arrested two days later.
Rape in Singapore is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, along with a fine or caning.
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