DNA match helped police nab rapist 12 years after crime

Serious Sexual Crime Branch officers cite 2 cases showing importance of forensic exams

- Andrew Wong

Forensic medical examinations were crucial in helping Singapore police solve two separate rape cases, with DNA matches making the offenders confess to their crimes.

In one case, a 23-year-old university student was in 2019 beaten, dragged into a forested area in Kranji and raped.

The rapist then drank from the victim's water bottle and poured the remaining water over her lower body, before making his escape.

But a timely forensic medical examination found male DNA on her, which later matched that of the offender, Indian national Chinnaiah Karthik.

In 2023, Chinnaiah was sentenced to 16 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Amin Majid, who is from the Serious Sexual Crime Branch (SSCB) of the Criminal Investigation Department, said: "It really helped with our investigations, it was the final nail in the coffin." The police had rounded up several suspects from nearby dormitories and housing estates, using closed-circuit television footage.

DNA testing was then conducted on all the suspects, including the offender.

DSP Amin described Chinnaiah as being dishonest and uncooperative during the initial course of investigations.

"That is why the forensic medical examination was so crucial in this case," said DSP Amin, who was the investigating officer on the case.