On Tuesday (9 Mar), a Singaporean father, 55, has been sentenced to 33 years’ jail in the High Court for repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting his three daughters, now aged 13, 22 and 26. The man also has a 17-year-old son.
The incident took place between 2005–2019. All three daughters began facing sexual abuse when they were aged 11–12.
The man cannot be caned as offenders aged 50 and above are spared from caning by law, and he cannot be named due to a court order to protect the identities of his daughters.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of rape and one count of attempting to get his youngest daughter to perform an indecent act.
During sentencing, eight other similar charges were considered by High Court judge See Kee Oon, who described the man’s crimes as “utterly heinous and abhorrent”.
14 Years of Sexual Assault
In 2005, the man began sexually abusing his oldest daughter. She was around 11 years old at the time.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Norine Tan, he had developed “urges” from viewing pornography and had forced his oldest daughter to have sex with him.
He then sexually assaulted her a second time when she was in her room at home doing her homework, continuing to touch her inappropriately even after she began crying. He told her to stop crying before he proceeded to undress and rape her, ignoring her cries and repeated protests telling him that she was in pain.
He continued to rape her numerous times afterwards and warned her not to tell anyone about the assault. Being extremely afraid of her father, she obeyed and kept mum about the abuse that she was facing.
Sometime between 2010–2011, he stopped abusing his oldest daughter, only to begin repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting his second daughter. The abuse started when she was 12 and ended when she was 21, just a few days before his arrest in October 2019.
Just like her elder sister, she did not dare to tell anyone about the assault out of fear of her father.
In June 2018, the father forced his youngest daughter to perform an obscene act on him. She was around 11 years old at the time.
On 22 October 2018, he tried to have sex with her, but the she shook her head and began crying. Her refusal frustrated him, but he did not pursue the issue.
The youngest girl was afraid of being raped as she had witnessed her father sexually abusing her second older sister twice.
Afterwards, she confided in her friend because she did not wish for her father to continue with his sexual abuse. Her friend advised her to tell a teacher about her father, who then took her to report the matter to the police.
Assault Left Two Daughters with PTSD
After the arrest of her father, the oldest daughter underwent assessment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was found to have had suicidal thoughts during the abuse.
The second daughter was also found to have PTSD as well as major depressive disorder, and requires treatment possibly with psychological therapy. She had reported symptoms of poor mood and hopelessness, as well as the sentiment that life was not worth living.
The man went for a psychiatric examination at IMH a month after his arrest and was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder. He was also assessed to be at high risk of committing sexual crimes again, as he had sexually abused his daughters for 14 years.
DPP Tan and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Mohamed Faizal sought at least 35 years’ and four months’ jail, including one year’s imprisonment. They proposed these in place of 24 strokes of the cane, the maximum number possible.
DPP Tan argued that the 12 charges pressed against the man were insufficient in “[encompassing] the extent and egregious nature of his wrongdoing”.
She said, “It would be fair to say that this case represents one of the worst of its kind when it relates to sexual offending.”
The accused’s lawyers, Gino Hardial Singh, Tan Shu Ling, and Kwoh Ji Wei from Abbots Chambers LLC suggested a 27-year jail term as an alternative.
For each rape charge, the man could face a 20-year jail term and a fine. For attempting to coerce a child into performing an indecent act, he could face a 5-year jail term, up to S$10,000 in fines, or both.
If you are experiencing sexual assault or know someone who is, click here to seek help, or call 6779 0282 to reach The Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) at the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE)’s helpline.
Feature Image: kenchiro168 / Shutterstock.com
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