At his sentencing in the Auckland District Court today, the victim said she still blamed herself for getting into the front seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, rationally, that no seat in that car made what happened acceptable,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that is what this kind of violation does to a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
That night was not the end of the victim\u2019s ordeal. <\/p>\n
She had to go through a trial in 2025 that resulted in a hung jury, that she said betrayed her \u201cfaith in people\u201d.<\/p>\n
She persevered, however, and after a retrial in May a jury <\/a>found Singh, now aged 33, guilty on four counts of indecent assault<\/a>.<\/p>\n In court today, Judge Brooke Gibson laid out the facts of what happened on the night of July 14, 2024.<\/p>\n The woman got into the back of the Uber about 1.20am in Grey Lynn, Auckland, to take what the judge said should have been a short trip to Mount Eden.<\/p>\n She was upset when she got into the vehicle but, he said, that was not Singh\u2019s \u201cconcern\u201d.<\/p>\n Singh invited the woman into the front passenger seat and \u201cunfortunately\u201d she obliged, leaving some of her belongings in the back.<\/p>\n He placed his hand on her thigh, moving it higher up her lap.<\/p>\n The victim made it clear she didn\u2019t want it to happen, Judge Gibson stated, but Singh insisted on a kiss and a hug and trying to get her to agree to drive elsewhere.<\/p>\n The victim felt trapped as Singh again hugged and kissed her and put his hands near her bottom.<\/p>\n When they eventually reached her destination, and they got out of the car, Singh hugged the woman again and this time put his hand on her bottom and grabbed her.<\/p>\n Once he let her go, the victim walked away, the judge said.<\/p>\n A car with the word \u2018devil\u2019 in the numberplate<\/p>\n This morning in court, she read out her victim impact statement.<\/p>\n She told the court that two weeks before the Uber trip, she had just finished four years of therapy to process past sexual abuse.<\/p>\n Before the Uber trip, she had finally felt healed.<\/p>\n \u201cI was okay, I was happy, I was in a good place,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was taken from me.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she had never been more scared than she was in that Uber.<\/p>\n Fearing that she would be raped or murdered, she began to think of ways to leave evidence for police if it \u201ccame to that\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBreak a nail, pull out hair … wipe blood somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n She recalled that Singh\u2019s number plate had the word \u2018devil\u2019 in it.<\/p>\n \u201cYour Honour, I\u2019m not religious, but during my moments in Mr Singh\u2019s car I found myself praying to any and all gods that a car with the word \u2018DEVIL\u2019 in the number plate wouldn\u2019t be the reason I didn\u2019t get to tell my boyfriend I loved him again.\u201d<\/p>\n The week after the incident, she was running late to an exam and had no choice but to take an Uber. <\/p>\n However, the resulting stress caused a panic attack so severe that she had to walk out in the middle of the test \u2013 and failed.<\/p>\n At one of her first shifts back at work, a man came into the office that looked like Singh and she again had a panic attack, so intense she said she thought she was having a heart attack.<\/p>\n She struggles with eating, sleeping and had to go back to therapy and increase her anxiety medication.<\/p>\n She said the first trial was one of the most traumatic experiences of her life and the hung jury harmed her in ways she didn\u2019t expect. <\/p>\n Believing that if you told the truth, society would protect you, betrayed her \u201cfaith in people\u201d.<\/p>\n She was scared that Singh knew where she lived.<\/p>\n That fear had only grown, particularly with the idea of what he might do once he was sentenced, she said.<\/p>\n \u2018Gutted\u2019<\/p>\n The woman, who is now 24, spoke to NZME this week ahead of Singh\u2019s sentencing.<\/p>\n In that conversation, she said a ride that should have taken only four minutes, took 20 and felt like 40.<\/p>\n \u201cTime felt very warped.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she complied with what Singh wanted in the car, because she felt it could be \u201cdangerous\u201d if she tried to make a scene.<\/p>\n When she retold how Singh kept touching her thigh in the car, moving higher up her leg each time, she became emotional.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, it\u2019s been so long, you\u2019d think I\u2019d be able to say it without crying,\u201d she told NZME.<\/p>\n She gave evidence in the first trial and said she was cross-examined for about two days, which was a \u201cpretty gnarly process\u201d.<\/p>\n When the officer in charge told her about the non-verdict over the phone, she was \u201cgutted\u201d, but immediately said she wanted to go for a retrial.<\/p>\n Her history of sexual abuse was part of the reason she \u201cso immediately\u201d wanted a second shot, to stand up for herself in a way she felt she hadn\u2019t in the past.<\/p>\n Singh had multiple opportunities to tell the truth, but did not take them, which delayed her ability to heal.<\/p>\n When she got the text that he was found guilty on four counts, she told NZME she was in shock.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I just started sobbing and laughing at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n She also remembered Singh telling her that he only worked late night, weekend shifts \u2013 that worried her as she thought about the women, some of whom intoxicated, that would have ended up in his vehicle.<\/p>\n That was another reason she pursued justice.<\/p>\n A \u2018real risk\u2019 of deportation<\/p>\n In court, Singh was supported by about 10 of his family members, including his wife and baby, in the public gallery.<\/p>\n His lawyer Andy Wei said the majority of Singh\u2019s family lived in New Zealand.<\/p>\n