Stepfather Sentenced to 25 Years’ Jail for Raping Teenage Girl Who Later Lost Family Support

A 30-year-old man who sexually abused his teenage stepdaughter over a seven-month period was sentenced to 25 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane by the High Court on 28 March 2025.

The man had claimed trial to eight charges but was found guilty of eight charges – six counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault by penetration.

The man is now appealing against both his conviction and sentence, reported The Straits Times.

Man Claimed Victim Fabricated Allegations Over K-pop Shows

During the trial, the man denied committing any sexual acts on the girl, who was 13 to 14 years old when the offences occurred in 2021.

He claimed she had fabricated the allegations because she was upset with him for confiscating her mobile phone and TV remote and preventing her from watching K-pop shows.

After his arrest in September 2021, the man admitted to various sexual acts with the girl in video-recorded statements to police.

Court Rejects Claims of Coerced Confession

In court, he claimed these statements were not given voluntarily and should not be used as evidence against him.

The man asserted he made false confessions because he believed his stepdaughter was being held in police custody. He said an officer had told him to think about when his child would be able to go home if he kept “giving excuses or evading”.

He claimed he falsely confessed out of worry for her, believing police would release her after his admission.

Justice Mavis Chionh rejected these claims, calling his testimony “riddled with inconsistencies and wholly unbelievable”.

She noted the man provided vivid details that showed he was not repeating something told to him but recounting acts he knew first-hand.

Victim Lost Family Support After Reporting Sexual Abuse

The man had moved in with the girl and her 42-year-old mother in a one-room flat in late 2017 or 2018, and married the woman in January 2020.

The girl testified that she saw the man as a father figure prior to the incidents.

She said he sexually assaulted her on at least six occasions between March and September 2021 when her mother, who worked as a senior healthcare assistant, was not at home.

Pattern of Abuse Spanned Multiple Incidents

The first assault occurred during the March school holidays in 2021. After her mother left for work, the man asked the girl for a hug and then sexually violated her.

The second incident took place between April and May 2021. He again asked for a hug after her mother had left. As they lay on his bed watching a live stream on his phone, he touched her sexually and then raped her.

The girl testified about additional incidents between June and July, two in August, and a sixth during the September school holidays.

School Disclosure Led to Investigation

After the final incident, she heard a rumour about a classmate having sex. This triggered flashbacks of what her stepfather had done, causing her to cry.

On 24 September 2021, she told her schoolmates, teacher and school counsellor about the sexual assault. Child Protective Service officers took her to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and the man was arrested that day.

Court documents revealed the man would wait for his wife to leave before assaulting the victim, typically on Saturday mornings or during school holidays.

Prosecutors Sought Longer Sentence

In their sentencing submission, Deputy Public Prosecutors Jane Lim and Jeremy Bin sought 28 to 31 years’ jail with 24 strokes of the cane, citing the victim’s age and vulnerability, as well as the prolonged abuse.

They emphasised that the victim, who was “barely older than a child” when raped, “wanted nothing more than a father figure”.

Instead, the man sexually assaulted her to satisfy his own perverse desires.

The prosecutors added that the victim “essentially lost” her family after reporting the abuse. She lost both her father figure and her mother, who blamed her for making the report. As a result, the victim had to live in an orphanage, separated from her mother and without family support.

Justice Chionh described the man’s actions as a “brazen abuse” of his position of trust as the victim’s stepfather and considered his lack of remorse in making false allegations against the police as an aggravating factor in sentencing.