SINGAPORE — The girl was 12 years old when her father molested her in the family’s master bedroom in 2015 — and she later told her mother three times about what he had done to her.

The first time, the mother confronted her husband, who cried and begged her for forgiveness.

But the police were not called until more than a year later when the girl’s grandmother, who lived with them, could no longer withhold what she knew after the man molested the girl on a fourth occasion. The grandmother reported the matter to the police on Oct 12, 2016.

Following a 15-day trial that started in May last year, the 40-year-old father of four – who cannot be named due to a court order to protect the girl’s identity – was convicted of four counts of molestation on Thursday (Sept 19).

The prosecution is seeking a sentence of at least five years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane, pointing out that the man’s contact with his daughter was “not fleeting” and amounted to an “extremely grave betrayal of trust” since he is the victim’s biological father.

Three of four charges involved skin-to-skin contact. But the one that did not involve direct skin contact should not be seen as any less serious as the act was “intrusive” and “degrading” nonetheless, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Zhongshan told the court.

The charges involve violations committed on Sept 13 in 2015, and on Sept 30, Oct 10 and 12 in 2016. All involved the father rubbing his private parts on the girl’s buttocks.

THE FIRST INCIDENT

After the 2015 incident, the grandmother told her daughter — the victim’s mother — that the girl had spent quite some time in the master bedroom with her father, adding that he came out with a “plastic” in his hand and threw it before going to work.

The grandmother also informed her that the girl complained that her buttock cheeks were feeling sore.

The mother approached her daughter afterwards, told her she loved her a lot, and asked her to tell the truth. And the girl described the violation in vivid detail.

The next day, the mother confronted her husband and he cried, begging for her forgiveness.

SUBSEQUENT INCIDENTS

About a year later, on Sept 30, 2016, the father again molested the girl. This time both were fully clothed.

The girl told her mother about the incident, noting that she felt “stickiness” on the back of her pants after that and went to change her clothes.

The girl also complained to her grandmother, who said that the girl had approached her because she could not take it any more that the father had done this to her “very often”.

On Oct 10, 2016, the father molested the girl again, this time involving skin-to-skin contact.

Again, the girl told her mother about it. The mother reacted by texting the grandmother, who replied that the accused has “no shame”.

WIFE TOLD HIM TO SWEAR BY THE QURAN

It happened again two days later on Oct 12, 2016.

After this incident, the grandmother called the police at about 12.30pm. The girl’s mother returned that afternoon to find police officers in their home, and got her husband to swear on the Quran that he had never molested their daughter.

The police later arrested the father, and forensic results showed that the father’s DNA profile was found on the daughter’s back.

PROSECUTION HIGHLIGHTS LACK OF REMORSE

DPP Tan told the court the offences in 2016 took place despite the wife having forgiven the accused in 2015.

He also noted that the accused had displayed a lack of remorse by making spurious allegations against the police officers involved, saying that they lied in court and that one of them manipulated him.

The accused will return to court on Sept 25 to be sentenced. He remains out on a S$15,000 bail.