A 44-year-old man was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment and the statutory maximum of 24 strokes of the cane on Monday (Aug 8) for raping his 14-year-old daughter while his wife received cancer treatment.
The man pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, while another eight counts of rape, molestation and sexual assault by penetration were considered during sentencing.
The first incident of sexual abuse happened in May 2019 and continued for several months.
Both the victim and the offender cannot be named as they are protected by a gag order, and he is her biological father.
In October 2019, the man entered his daughter’s room while the rest of the family was asleep and sexually assaulted and raped the girl while her sister slept on the mattress next to her.
He committed the offence again in November 2019 and Dec 2, 2019, while the victim pretended to be asleep.
In the last incident, the mother entered the girls’ room and saw her husband kneeling next to their daughter’s bed naked from the waist down.
The mother hit the man, asking how he could do such a thing, reported Channel News Asia.
The victim began crying, which woke up her sister, who also began crying. The offender apologised to his wife before leaving the bedroom.
It was reported that the victim did not talk about the assaults because they were financially dependent on their father while their mother received cancer treatment.
She was also afraid that her father would be stronger than her should she try to resist him.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Shen Wanqin and Benjamin Samynathan said the victim did not want to upset or worry her mother further.
Following the last incident, the mother moved her daughters into the same bedroom as their siblings. The sexual abuse stopped.
The court heard that the mother was admitted to the hospital in 2020. On the same night, the father entered his children’s bedroom and sat on the victim’s mattress.
He was startled by his son’s sudden sneezing, forcing him to leave the room. However, the victim was awake and told her mother over text messages about what had happened.
The mother returned home a few days later and confronted her husband, but he did not respond.
She decided to apply for a personal protection order for her children against their father as a way to protect them in her absence.
The mother also brought her daughter to the police station, so she could report the previous rape incidents.
An assessment by an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist states that the father did not have a mental illness, nor was he intellectually disabled during the offences.
CNA reported that the mother has since died from the illness.
On the rape and sexual abuse, the prosecution said, “No child should be exploited in such a manner, particularly by the very ones they trust and look to for love and protection.”
Mr Samynathan added that the man went back into the room even after he was caught by his wife.
Meanwhile, defence counsel Vigneesh Nainar asked for a shorter jail term of 22 to 24 years as the offender was ashamed of his actions.
His children did not want to have contact with him anymore and “despise” him. “This loss in itself is a punishment for him,” said Mr Nainar.
However, Justice Dedar Singh Gill said that this was “the worst type of rape”, which “creates turmoil in the family.”
“No young girl should find herself in this position,” said the judge, referring to the daughter’s position of being unable to report the sexual abuse due to their circumstances.
The judge added that a wrong decision could mean the victim’s ordeal continues, and the offender does not get his punishment.
According to section 375(2) of the Penal Code, a man who is found guilty of committing rape can be imprisoned for up to 20 years, fined or caned. /TISG
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