A cleaner is sentenced for his brutal attack on a university student in 2019
Chinnaiah Karthik, a 26-year-old cleaner from India, has been sentenced to 16 years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane for the brutal rape of a 23-year-old university student in 2019. The attack took place in the early hours of May 4 at Kranji, after the victim accidentally boarded the wrong MRT train and ended up far from her campus.
The victim had been arguing with her boyfriend on the phone and, while walking alone to a bus stop, was followed and assaulted by Karthik. He punched her in the face, dragged her into a forested area, and raped her while restraining her by the neck. The victim managed to contact her boyfriend during the assault, who heard her screams before the call abruptly ended.
Despite being left alone after the rape, the victim took a pair of scissors from her bag to defend herself and contacted her boyfriend, telling him about the attack. She was found sitting on the main road, in a disheveled state, when the police arrived shortly after. Karthik was apprehended the following day. Forensic evidence confirmed his involvement in the crime.
During his trial, Karthik’s psychiatric evaluation revealed that he was unfit to stand trial for a period, but he was later deemed fit to plead. The emotional toll on the victim has been significant, and she continues to suffer psychological distress years after the incident.
