SINGAPORE: A 44-year-old man who sexually abused two biological daughters and two stepdaughters was sentenced to 16½ years’ jail and 22 strokes of the cane on Thursday (Oct 8).
The sexual assaults took place over 15 years, between 2008 and 2023.
He committed his most serious offences against a stepdaughter, molesting her when she was five to seven years old and then raping when she was eight to nine years old.
He also performed a lewd act on himself within her view and while looking at her.
A video of this incident, which the girl recorded, eventually led to the man’s arrest in 2024.
On Oct 8, he pleaded guilty to three charges – one for aggravated statutory rape and two for aggravated outrage of modesty. Seven other charges were considered during sentencing. He cannot be named under a gag order to protect the victims’ identities.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh told the High Court that the man has eight children across three marriages.
The first known victim is the man’s stepdaughter from his first marriage.
In 2008, when he was married to his second wife, he entered the girl’s bedroom and molested her.
The victim, who was then 12 to 13 years old, did not lodge a police report at the time as her mother did not believe her allegation, which led her to fear that the police would not believe her either.
The man’s next known assault involved his biological daughter from his first marriage, who was then 17 years old.
It took place in 2020, when he was married to his third wife.
Carrying another daughter, a 10-month-old, he entered the teenager’s room, placed the baby on the girl’s back and molested her.
The victim did not lodge a police report at the time as her family did not want her to do so. She was also afraid of getting disowned or kicked out of the home if she went against her family’s wishes.
Eventually, she told a hospital medical social worker about the offence, and a child protection officer from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) lodged a police report in March 2024.
The man also molested his biological daughter from his second marriage in November 2021, when he was married to his third wife.
The victim, who was then 13 years old, was staying overnight at his flat when he lay down next to her on the mattress and molested her under her clothes.
She did not tell anyone about the sexual assault at first as she felt afraid.
Two months later, she lodged a police report stating that she was molested by a person, who was later revealed to be the offender, the court was told.
Raped stepdaughter
Between 2020 and 2023, the man repeatedly assaulted his stepdaughter from his third marriage.
In 2023, after they played a video game in the living room, he exposed himself and told her to perform a sexual act on him.
The girl, who was then eight to nine years old, did not understand the significance of his instructions at the time. She did as she was told, and returned to the game after the rape.
A few weeks later, while he was playing a game of wrestling with her in the bedroom, he rubbed himself against her.
On the evening of Nov 14, 2024, the man stood near the door of the master bedroom and carried out a lewd act while looking at the victim, who could see him from her room.
She recorded a 32-second video of him as she felt what he was doing was wrong.
The girl then sent the video via TikTok to a close friend, who told her to call the police. But she refused to do so as she did not want anything bad to happen to her family.
The friend then told a teacher about the video, leading MSF to be notified and a child protection officer to make police report the next day.
The man was arrested on the same day the police report was lodged. - The Straits Times/ANN
