A man from Malaysia, aged 30, has been given a prison term of five years and nine months in New Zealand after being convicted of raping his partner while she was asleep and kidnapping her during a later road trip.
The man, whose name is being kept private to protect the victim, arrived in New Zealand in March 2020 where he has been in custody for over a year, waiting for his trial on charges related to incidents dating back to July 2021, as well as for breaching a protection order twice by contacting the victim while on bail.
The New Zealand Herald reported that the court concluded that the woman had not consented to having sex on the morning of July 1, 2021, leading to the rape charge, and that she was detained in a car against her will during a later road trip, leading to the kidnapping charge.
The man’s lawyer, Lee Lee Heah, stated that he arrived from Malaysia in 2020 on a working visa before meeting and “falling in love” with the complainant in 2021.
By mid-2021, the pair were living in the Tasman region after moving from North Island for seasonal work, renting a room in a house where the rape took place on the morning the woman was due to go to a job interview in Nelson.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the woman stated that she did not consent to having sex with the defendant at the time in question and attempted to push him away. On other occasions, she did not want to have sex with him but allowed it “out of duty”.
In November 2021, the man booked a cabin on a ferry and, while she slept, accessed her phone and discovered evidence of an affair with someone else. After the ferry crossing, they argued and the man began driving south towards Christchurch against the woman’s wishes to return to Nelson.
About 10km down the road, the woman realized where they were heading, began yelling, and called the police from the car. The man was pulled over by the police who tracked the vehicle using the woman’s cellphone.
In February 2022, the woman reported the incidents to the police, leading to the man being issued with a temporary protection order. He pleaded guilty to breaching the protection order and attempting to pervert the course of justice, and is set to be sentenced on all charges on Jan 12 next year.
