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SINGAPORE: She was only 11 years old when her father, whom she shared a room with, started sexually abusing her.
This went on for three years, and only ended when she told her foster parents, who alerted authorities.
The man, 55, was on Thursday (April 3) sentenced to 65 months and four weeks’ jail for using criminal force leading to outrage of modesty, and for outrage of modesty against a victim under 14.
Two other charges were taken into consideration for his sentence.
The court heard that the girl was afraid to resist her father’s advances as she had previously witnessed him beating her mother.
The man cannot be named as a gag order was imposed to protect the identity of his daughter.
The man married his wife in 2006 and the couple had two daughters, including the victim.
The family slept on four single mattresses placed side by side in a shared bedroom at home, with the man sleeping next to his wife.
The first incident happened between 2018 and April 2019.
The man waited until everyone was asleep before he approached the victim, who was on the mattress furthest from his.
He molested her over her clothes, kissed her lips and made her touch him inappropriately.
He struck again in December 2020, sexually assaulting his daughter while she was asleep. The third incident happened around the same period.
The court heard that the man did not know at the time of the incidents that the victim was intellectually disabled.
The offences only came to light in 2023, when the victim told her foster parents that she had been touched inappropriately.
The foster parents alerted the girl’s child protection officer on March 9, 2023.
The girl was sent to a foster home in 2022 after her parents’ separation the previous year.
Appearing via video-link, the man remained expressionless as his sentence was read out.
District Judge Crystal Tan said that while both the prosecution and defence had accepted that the man did not know about his daughter’s mental disabilities at the time, general and specific deterrence were predominant sentencing considerations for his case.
Those found guilty of outrage of modesty can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the punishments.
Those found guilty of the outrage of modesty of a person below 14 can face up to five years jail, fined, caned, or given a combination of the punishments. - The Straits Times/ANN
