10 years and 8 months' jail for man who used a vibrator to sexually assault his 8-year-old daughter

SINGAPORE — Drunk and wanting to “explore a sexual fantasy” he had, a man used a vibrator on his eight-year-old daughter, while imagining that she was an ex-girlfriend.

In the High Court on Monday (Nov 28), the 37-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years and eight months’ jail, as well as 12 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to one charge of sexual assault by penetration without consent and another unrelated charge. 

Three other charges were taken into consideration. 

Both the man and his daughter cannot be identified due to a court order to protect the victim’s identity. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

At the time of the incident, the victim was living with her father, her 65-year-old grandfather, 60-year-old grandmother, 22-year-old uncle and 30-year-old aunt in a three-room flat. 

Her mother, who is the man’s ex-girlfriend, left them when the victim was younger. Court documents did not state how old the victim was when this happened. 

Her grandparents were her main caregivers while her father was at work. The court heard that he was working as a food delivery rider and a scrap dealer at the time. 

The girl would sleep in the master bedroom of the house with her grandfather, grandmother and uncle, while her father slept on a mattress in the living room. Her aunt slept in another bedroom. 

On May 25 last year, sometime in the morning, the victim went to have breakfast at the dining table, which was close to where her father slept in the living room. 

He was lying on the mattress at the time and she greeted him by saying “papa” before having her breakfast. 

At this point, her grandfather had gone out for a stroll and everyone else in the household were in their respective bedrooms. 

This left the victim alone in the living room with her father. 

A while later, the man decided to use a vibrator to sexually assault her and he went to retrieve one, as well as lubricant from the storeroom. 

The court heard that he was intoxicated at the time. 

He approached the victim while she was still seated at the dining table and pulled down her shorts and undergarments. While he was removing her clothes, she said in Mandarin, “Father, I don’t want”, but he ignored her pleas. 

He carried her to the mattress and left her lying face-up on the mattress with her lower body exposed. 

He then proceeded to sexually assault her with the vibrator despite her repeated protests. 

After a while, the man heard the grandfather returning home and quickly stopped what he was doing. 

With the lubricant and vibrator in hand, he rushed towards the toilet and hid them. 

When the girl’s grandfather entered the house, he saw her on the mattress wearing a shirt but without any shorts and underwear. 

Upon seeing her grandfather, she said in Mandarin, “Grandfather, save me, save me", and told him that her “below” area was painful. 

Realising that something was wrong, her grandfather confronted the man and asked him: “How can you do something like that to your own daughter?” 

But the man refused to admit to anything and instead said that his daughter was lying. 

By this time, the victim’s aunt woke up and walked into the living room. 

As the girl was crying, her aunt brought her into her bedroom to comfort her and found out from the girl that her father had sexually assaulted her with an item.  

Her aunt then told the victim’s grandmother what happened. 

The girl’s grandparents confronted the man again and he finally apologised after the girl's grandmother scolded him repeatedly and threatened to call the police.

He said that he would not do it again and pleaded for them not to report him. 

The girl’s grandmother later asked the victim to forgive her father and she agreed. They decided not to call the police. 

However, her aunt continued to feel uneasy. The next day, she confided in her older sister, who was not living together with them. 

Deciding that the matter ought to be reported, the victim’s aunt asked her husband to do so on the same day. 

After finding out that a police report was lodged, the man fled from his home. 

The police found him two days later on May 28, 2021 at about 6.50pm hiding under a flyover along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. He was arrested on the same day.

MAN WANTED TO EXPLORE A SEXUAL FANTASY”

A medical report by the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital showed that the victim’s intimate areas “appeared normal and appropriate for her age”. 

A separate psychiatric report by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) stated that the victim was in the intellectual disability range of intelligence. 

For the man, a report by IMH report deemed him to be of sound mind at the time of offence. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia said that despite being intoxicated, the man was “cognisant and aware that his actions were both morally and legally wrong." 

“He admitted that he had wanted to explore a sexual fantasy by deliberately using the vibrator on his daughter while pretending that she was his ex-girlfriend,” she added. 

She sought a sentence of between 10 years and eight months to 11 years and nine months, with 12 strokes of the cane, stating that he had abused a position of trust and that the victim was “especially young and vulnerable”. 

The man’s lawyer, Ms Dew Wong from Dew Chambers, said that the man had broken up with his girlfriend before the incident and this had “affected him very badly”. 

He was hit by “a wave of loneliness” that day and turned to drinking a bottle of hard liquor, which had affected him since he was not a regular drinker, Ms Wong said. 

She sought a sentence of not more than 11 years.

Addressing the court through a Chinese interpreter, the man pleaded: “I know I did wrong but I hope you will give me a lighter sentence and that once this case has been concluded, my daughter can return to my mother’s care.” 

“I do not wish for my daughter to be not by my side because to me, family is very important to me,” he said. 

The court heard that his daughter is now removed from his family.

However, DPP Teo confirmed that arrangements will be made by the Ministry of Social and Family Development for the victim to reintegrate with her family once the outcome of the case has been confirmed.

Noting that the prosecution and defence was “largely in agreement” with the proposed sentence, Justice Pang Khang Chau sentenced the man to 10 years and eight months’ jail. 

Adult offenders convicted of sexually penetrating a minor under 14 can be jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned.