A man who tried to rape a woman beside a cemetery late at night was jailed for three years and four months yesterday. In jailing Tan Chin-bu, 25, Deputy High Court Judge Alan Wright said the attempted rape was a serious offence, and repeated his observation: 'I doubt that a man truly understands the effect this has on a woman'. Deputy Judge Wright said for the purposes of sentencing however, he would place the offence at the lower end of the scale. Tan had pleaded guilty to attempted rape, which happened in the early hours of October 20, 2001. The Court of First Instance heard how he failed to report to police on February 6, 2002, after being released on bail and was returned to Hong Kong from Shanghai on September 24 last year. The court was told that Tan met his victim when he joined friends at a karaoke bar in Causeway Bay. Later, he offered to drive the victim and several other people home. But the court heard that instead of driving his drunken victim home, he took her to the Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery, where he tried to rape her. The court was told that Tan masturbated in front of her after she fought him off. A friend alerted the police after calling Tan and hearing yells for help in the background. Tan's car was intercepted shortly afterwards and he was arrested.
