2016 sexual assault case: Evidential threshold not met for prosecution

That is why police did not take further action in case involving Mindef colleagues

- Samuel Devaraj

The police said they commenced investigations immediately after a woman reported a sexual assault by her colleague in the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), but did not take further action against the man as the evidential threshold for criminal prosecution was not met.

According to a civil suit judgment dated May 23, the woman had filed a police report in 2021 about the allegations against her colleague over the incident, which occurred in 2016, and was told after 11 months that the police had decided not to take further action against the man.

The woman then sought legal advice and pursued the civil case for battery, which she won. She was awarded $45,000 in general damages and $8,697.39 in special damages, plus interest.

In a reply to queries from The Straits Times on June 4, a Singapore Police Force (SPF) spokeswoman said that after the woman filed the report in March 2021, officers interviewed several witnesses and took the statements of all the parties known to the police then.

The police, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), assessed that a criminal case could not be made out against the man.

This was after it took into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, "including the evidence that was available, and the nature of the interactions and the relationship between the claimant and the defendant".

The spokeswoman also said the police thoroughly investigated two other police reports that involved the woman in separate incidents.

No further action was taken against the involved parties in these cases as well, the SPF spokeswoman said, adding that the AGC had also been consulted for these cases too.

She noted that legal thresholds for pursuing criminal charges are significantly higher than those for civil proceedings.