SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A man returned home drunk one morning and raped his stepdaughter, but the girl, who has intellectual disabilities, did not understand what he was doing to her.
The rape in 2024 came to light several months later when the girl, who was then 14 years old, was found to be pregnant.
On Feb 23, the 48-year-old man was sentenced to 19 years and four months’ jail, as well as 16 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a charge of rape.
The court has imposed a gag order on the identities of the victim and the man.
In sentencing, High Court judge Audrey Lim noted that the victim is especially vulnerable due to her age and intellectual disability.
The girl was assessed to have an IQ of 42. The normal range of intelligence is between 90 and 110.
Justice Lim also considered the severe harm caused to the victim, who was impregnated and carried a child to term. The child is now with a foster family.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana had sought a sentence of between 19 and 22 years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane, saying: “The consequences extend far beyond the immediate harm to the victim, encompassing the destruction of family relationships, the creation of complex circumstances surrounding the child born of the offence, and lasting psychological damage that will endure long after these proceedings conclude.”
The victim was first observed to have developmental delays when she was four years old. She was diagnosed with intellectual disabilities in 2024.
While she can shower and feed herself, she needs to be instructed and reminded to do so daily.
She is also incapable of making decisions, and relied on her mother or the man for these.
The court was told that the man observed that she has a child-like temperament and behaves like a child of eight years old.
The man, who is stateless, married the victim’s mother, a 34-year-old Singaporean, in 2018.
The couple also have a daughter and a son together.
The family lived in a one-room flat, where the couple slept in the bedroom, while the three children slept in the living room.
Some time in May or June 2024, the man returned home at around 7am after completing his shift as a bouncer at a nightclub.
The man, who had consumed alcohol during his shift, then began to touch the victim while the other two children were asleep.
The victim woke up but did not understand what the man was doing to her or know how to stop him.
The man then raped her despite knowing that the victim did not consent to sex.
On Sept 24, 2024, the victim visited Singapore General Hospital because she had abdominal pain.
She was found to be pregnant, and a police report was made by the hospital as she is a minor.
An ultrasound conducted the next day showed the victim was carrying a viable 18-week foetus, with the estimated date of delivery being Feb 22, 2025.
When the victim’s mother learnt about the pregnancy, she confronted the man, but he denied having done anything to the victim.
Further investigations by the police revealed that the man was the one who impregnated the girl.
The man was arrested on Sept 27, 2024.
After the baby was born, paternity tests confirmed that the man is the father.
His assigned lawyer, Ms Mumtaj Banu, who acted for him under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said he was ashamed of what he had done and wanted to apologise to the victim for the pain and irreversible harm he had caused. -- The Straits Times/ANN
