By Lyse Comins
A Durban woman who was teaching English at a private school in South Korea has fled home for safety after being stalked by a neighbour who handcuffed and brutally raped her.
He then offered her "blood money" to reduce his jail sentence.
Melissa Brouard, 23, a University of KwaZulu-Natal graduate, landed back in South Africa on Wednesday and says she is speaking out about her ordeal to the Daily News because she wants to campaign for stiffer sentences for rapists in South Korea. First-time offenders there can be sentenced to as little as 18 months in jail.
Brouard said she had travelled to Ulsan, the third largest city in South Korea, via a reputable recruitment agency. Brouard's nightmare began on July 7, just three months after she arrived.
Continues Below ↓
The alleged rapist lived across the car park from her flat in one of the four blocks of flats in the complex.
He had been watching her through binoculars from his flat for weeks.
On the night of the attack Brouard was asleep in her 10th floor flat.
"I woke up and saw him standing next to the bed. I thought I must be dreaming because things like this don't happen in Korea," she said.
Read the full story in the Daily News
|