SINGAPORE(TIP): A 28-year-old Indian origin in Singapore has been sentenced by a court there for attempting to spike his flat mate’s drink and subsequently rape her, according to reports.

Annadurai Prabakaran, who worked in Singapore for more than seven years as a private hire bus driver, had earlier started to think of having sex with his 21-year-old flat mate, who is also an Indian origin residing there, court documents suggest.

Prabakaran bought two tablets for two Singapore dollars, of what he assumed to be sleeping pills, to spike his flat mate’s water bottle.

“He planned to drug her and have sexual intercourse with her while she was asleep,” according to a report, citing court documents.

He then carried out a small test by using one of the pills to see whether it would become colorless when dissolved.

Three days later, on December 12, he dissolved the other pill in his flat mate’s bottle, when she left it unattended.

When her 21-year-old flat mate took a sip of water, she spat it out when she realized the water tasted bitter, according to reports.

The woman, upon seeing that the water was cloudy, suspected Prabakaran and called a friend of her uncle’s. Her friend, also a woman, turned up at the apartment with a male friend.

Prabakaran confessed to spiking his flat mate’s water and then pleaded for forgiveness, according to the court documents.

He then grabbed the water bottle from the man, who was holding it at that time, and dropped it on the floor.

The man proceeded to call the police, which sent the bottle to the Health Sciences Authority or HSA for analysis.

A small amount of water had remained in the bottle. The HSA’s toxicology report revealed the spiked water to not have the chemicals inside a sleeping pill, but instead Sildenafil, a drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil’s side effects include nausea and headaches.

Prabakaran pleaded guilty for obstructing justice, with his lawyer pleading to the court for Prabakaran to be given the lightest sentence possible.

The court sentence handed out to Prabakaran was for two years and 10 months. He was also sentenced to three strokes of the cane.

Singapore permits judicial caning and its caning laws are said to be one of the most severe in the world.