An Indian citizen was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison in Singapore on Thursday (July 31, 2025) for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl on two occasions.
Ramalingam Selvasekaran, 58, sentenced by the Singapore High Court, will not face caning since he is over 50. However, his punishment of 14 years, three months, and two weeks includes extra jail time instead of 15 cane strokes, as reported by The Straits Times.
He was convicted on July 7 of all three charges—one rape count and two counts of indecency—after conducting his own defense during the trial.
An Indian national was sentenced to over 14 years in prison in Singapore on Thursday (July 31, 2025) for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl on two occasions.
The Singapore High Court sentenced 58-year-old Ramalingam Selvasekaran, who will not be caned due to being over 50. His sentence of 14 years, three months, and two weeks includes extra jail time instead of 15 cane strokes, as reported by The Straits Times.
He was convicted on July 7 of all three charges — one count of rape and two counts of outraging modesty — following a trial where he acted as his own lawyer.
During sentencing discussions on July 30, Ramalingam claimed he was innocent and stated he would appeal his conviction.
After his sentencing, he was granted bail of SGD80,000 pending appeal and negotiated with the Judge over his bail terms.
Justice Aidan Xu denied Ramalingam's requests to remove his electronic monitoring device (commonly worn on the leg to track a convicted individual's movements) and to skip regular check-ins at the Police Cantonment Complex.
Ramalingam also opposed Deputy Public Prosecutor Susanna Yim’s suggestion to give the girl SGD8 in cash while the court was deciding on the various trial exhibits.
“The SGD8 was taken from my shop,” he stated. The judge instructed the prosecution to investigate the issue.
The offenses occurred between approximately 4:50 pm and 5:05 pm on October 28, 2021, at his convenience store in Jurong West, located on the west coast of Singapore. The girl came to his store and later returned that day to purchase ice cream.
Ramalingam, aged 55 at the time, was charged by the prosecution with taking the girl into the back of his shop to grope her and force her to perform oral sex on him.
After the incidents, the girl asked a bystander for help, leading them to contact the police.
At the conclusion of the trial, which started on January 16, Ramalingam claimed that the girl's account should not be trusted.
He claimed it was shocking that she would seek help from a stranger instead of someone familiar.
He pointed out that the absence of police camera footage showing her returning home after the incident was questionable.
He further mentioned that he couldn't have assaulted the victim due to his erectile dysfunction and highlighted that his DNA was not present on her body.
In convicting Ramalingam on July 7, Justice Xu stated that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge found the girl’s account of events to be largely credible.
"The fact that she didn’t flee after the first incident of molestation, didn't resist, or tell her grandfather, have all been adequately justified, especially considering her youth and immaturity," the Singapore daily reported the judge as saying.
Justice Xu noted that in Ramalingam’s previous police statements, he admitted to hugging and kissing the victim and that she performed oral sex on him.
The judge indicated that Ramalingam’s subsequent denials of the crimes were simply an attempt to backtrack from his admissions.
Justice Xu remarked that the lack of video footage did not diminish the credibility of her testimony.
While it was acknowledged that Ramalingam had erectile dysfunction, the judge mentioned that the prosecution’s expert witness provided a convincing argument that oral rape was still plausible.
The absence of Ramalingam’s DNA on the victim was at most neutral and did not contradict the girl’s claim of sexual assault, the judge concluded.
