Jail, caning for man who committed 41 offences, including raping 61-year-old woman exercising at fitness corner
Selina Lum
The Straits Times
Oct 28, 2025
Arrested after committing a drug offence and misappropriating credit cards, he absconded while on bail.
While he was on the run for nearly a year and four months, he committed 33 more offences before he was arrested again. After he was eleased on bail again, his crimes escalated, including raping a woman, 61, who was exercising in her estate.
On Oct 28, Imran Syafiq Mohamed Rashid, 37, a Singaporean, was sentenced to 19½ years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norine Tan earlier told the court that Imran had committed a staggering 41 offences over 16 occasions from May 2020 to May 2022.
Imran pleaded guilty on Oct 27 to 10 charges: one each for rape and criminal intimidation of the victim; one for housebreaking; one for voyeurism; one for assault resulting in grievous hurt; one for cheating; three for traffic offences; and one for possession of drug utensils.
The other 31 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
His crime spree started in May 2020 when he failed to return to a community supervision centre for a month, until he was arrested on June 4, 2020, and released on police bail that day.
Around three months later, on Sept 9, he misappropriated bank cards and an identity card. Less than three days later, he was found with drug-taking utensils.
After he was again released on police bail that month, he absconded until he was arrested in January 2022 and charged in court. He was released on bail for the third time.
But he missed a court date and a warrant of arrest was issued for him in February 2022. On March 28, he was arrested and released on bail for the fourth time.
Less than two months later, he raped the woman.
On May 13, 2022, between 5am and 6am, the woman was doing her daily exercises at an HDB fitness corner when Imran dragged her into the bushes and raped her. He threatened to kill her family if she alerted the police.
Once she reached home, her husband called the police.
In sentencing Imran, High Court Judge Mavis Chionh described him as a brazen criminal who basically thumbed his nose at the law.
The judge noted the disturbing escalation in the gravity of his crimes. From traffic offences and misappropriation of property to housebreaking, assaulting his girlfriend and, most horrifically, the rape.
Justice Chionh said what made it worse was that many of the crimes were committed while Imran was on the run from the police and while he was released on bail.
The judge said the fact that the rape was committed at a public place used daily by residents no doubt created fear and unease among the public.
While on the run, he assaulted his girlfriend over four occasions.
Between March 2021 and January 2022, he kicked her face, punched her, pulled her hair, bashed her head against the wall and burned her finger with a cigarette.
In January 2022, he trespassed into a female toilet at Elias Mall, stepped on a toilet seat and peeped at a 14-year-old girl relieving herself.
The girl confronted Imran when he left the cubicle he was in, and used her mobile phone to record him as she chased but lost him.
Imran had committed 23 traffic offences over eight occasions, including repeatedly driving a car without a licence and insurance coverage, and repeatedly riding a motorcycle despite the expiry of his licence.
He also drove carelessly while his girlfriend and her baby were in a car that he asked a friend to rent on his behalf.
He caused the car to mount the centre divider, damaging the railings and the vehicle.
In early 2021, he misappropriated a woman's identity card and driving licence, which he then used to deceive BlueSG into renting him a vehicle on three occasions.
Shortly before committing the rape, he climbed into a third-floor HDB flat in the same estate and stole items worth more than $2,900.
In mitigation, defence counsel R.S. Bajwa acknowledged his client had committed serious offences but said Imran has shown remorse and wanted to plead guilty "from the word go".
