He was so brutal that...
S'porean raped 3 China women who came here with high hopes
SHE arrived in Singapore at 3.35am last November with dreams of furthering her education.
Less than nine hours later, around noon, the China national was brutally raped and sodomised.
One of her first encounters with a Singaporean man - the Beast of Balestier - has left her scarred for life.
Likewise, his two other victims, also China nationals who came here with dreams of a better education.
One of them was a virgin.
All three now carry such deep psychological scars that their lives will never be the same again.
What Ser Eng Siong did to them was so violent and horrendous that much of it cannot be reported in a family newspaper.
According to psychiatric reports tendered during Ser's trial, all three have trouble sleeping. And when they do, they have recurring nightmares.
They became depressed and withdrawn, and two showed signs of post-traumatic stress.
One felt life was meaningless while another ran in fear when she spotted a man with tinted hair in a crowded place. She had mistaken the man for her rapist.
Last week, Ser, 33, was sentenced to 28 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for his heinous acts.
The delivery man committed his crimes in the Balestier area, with the first on 3 Nov last year.
He tricked his way into a hostel room where an 18-year-old girl had just moved in after arriving from China.
She was sleeping alone in her room around noon when Ser woke her by knocking on her window.
He told her that he was there to do some repairwork.
After she let him in, he pretended to fiddle with the gas canister in the kitchen.
When she returned to her room, he rushed in after her and closed the door.
Ser then raped and sodomised her several times in her room. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Later, she ran to the toilet and locked the door. But he forced her to open it and then raped her again in the toilet.
WIPED FINGERPRINTS
When he was finally done, he used tissue to wipe surfaces he had touched.
He told his terrified victim that he was destroying evidence so he could not be traced.
Before he fled in a pick-up, he also told her he was a Malaysian and was leaving Singapore immediately.
The victim is now fearful of men and has became quiet and withdrawn, said Dr Bernardine Woo, a consultant psychiatrist with the Child Guidance Clinic, who assessed her.
She added that the traumatic experience could lead to problems with interpersonal relationships and intimacy later in the victim's life.
Despite his attempt to wipe away evidence, Ser left fingerprints at the scene which led police to his identity as he had previous convictions for theft.
But before the police could track him down, Ser struck again on 11 Nov.
This time, he gained entry by pretending to ask for someone.
COINCIDENCE
Coincidentally, the name he used, Xiao Chen, belonged to a previous occupant of the rented apartment.
He then attacked the woman, 20, who let him in.
He dragged her to the toilet where he strangled her till she fainted.
He then raped her.
While she lay unconscious on the bathroom floor, he went to her room and took her handphone and $50 before going to another bedroom where her flatmate, 22, was asleep.
He crept up and strangled her. She was jolted awake and struggled. She then bit one of Ser's fingers till it bled.
After subduing her, Ser bandaged his finger, then tore off part of the bedsheet and tied her hands to the wooden pole of the bed.
He then returned to the toilet where the first flatmate had regained consciousness.
Ser choked her till she fainted again, then violated her with a toothbrush.
After this, Ser returned to the bedroom where his other victim was tied up.
He told her he had killed her flatmate before raping and sodomising her. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Ser was arrested in Geylang a day after he attacked the two women.
The 20-year-old, a virgin before the attack, blamed herself for letting Ser into the apartment.
Dr Joshua Kua, a consultant psychiatrist with the Institute of Mental Health, noted how she had felt that life was meaningless, although she was not actively suicidal.
Now, she startles whenever someone opens the door suddenly. She also avoids going to the toilet when she is alone at home.
Dr Kua noted that she has developed an adjustment disorder with depressed mood as a result of the brutal assault.
Her flatmate now suffers from post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorder, said Dr Kua in his report.
She has recurrent and distressing recollections of the traumatic event.
She dreamt about the brutal incident despite moving out of the apartment where the rapes took place.
NIGHT TRAUMA
When night falls, she shivers in fear as she lies on her bed and has difficulty falling asleep.
She is socially withdrawn, has lost her appetite and weight, and is also afraid of taking the lift alone and avoids bathing when she is alone at home.
She also panicked and ran when she saw a man she thought was her attacker.
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Careless because S'pore feels so safe
SLEAZY, scumbag, shameless and beast.
That's what some China women who live in Balestier are calling serial rapist Ser Eng Siong.
The 33-year-old Singaporean had raped three China women living in the area last year.
Miss Ice Chen, who lives near one of the victims, was shocked to read about how Ser had entered the homes of his victims so easily.
Said the 22-year-old student in Mandarin: 'Many China women feel that Singapore is a safe country with a low crime rate. Maybe that's why they opened their doors to the rapist so easily.
'Furthermore, the rape took place in the morning when most people would not be on their guard.'
Miss Chen, who is from Hangzhou, added that she probably would have done the same.
She chose to stay in the Balestier area after noticing the high number of Chinese nationals there.
The rent in Balestier is considered cheap for its accessibilty to town.
The area is also well-known for its good food and many eateries which remain open till the wee hours.
Another Chinese national, who wanted to be known only as Xiao Shan, felt that Balestier is not as 'complicated' as Geylang.
The 29-year-old who works here as a nurse has also read about Ser in the newspapers.
WARNING
She said in Mandarin: 'The incident serves as a warning to us not to open doors to strangers.
'In fact, we had all been told that since young.
'I've noticed how some women sleep with their windows open. Maybe their apartments do not have air-conditioning. That can invite unwanted attention.'
She added: 'Nowadays, I would check that I've locked all the windows and doors before I sleep.'
Added her friend Xiao Xiao, 20, a student: 'I am glad that the rapist has been caught and put behind bars.
'Or else I would still be living in fear after what he did to his victims.'