45-year-old man on trial for sexually abusing daughter for nearly 5 years

• A father is accused of said sexually abusing his daughter starting from when she was 10
• He and his wife were not on good terms and slept in separate rooms, with the accused sharing a room with the victim
• The girl eventually confided in her stepfather about what her father had done to her

SINGAPORE — A 45-year-old man allegedly sexually abused his daughter repeatedly for nearly five years from when she was 10, with the abuse starting while he shared a room with his wife, three children and domestic worker. 

The High Court heard this on Tuesday (Nov 17) on the first day of the trial. The father, cannot be named due to a court order, faces 14 charges of sexual assault and one molestation charge.

Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Eugene Lee, Goh Yi Ling and Colin Ng told the court that the alleged abuse started when the man and his family were staying with relatives in a Yishun flat.

After the first incident where he was said to have fondled his daughter's private parts, the accused allegedly told the victim not to tell anybody, adding that he would teach her more about sex. 

On subsequent occasions, he is said to have digitally penetrated her and eventually forced her to fellate him. 

The abuse apparently continued after the accused’s family moved into a four-room flat in Woodlands in 2011. 

The court heard that the man and his wife’s relationship had soured and they slept in separate rooms with the accused sleeping with the victim. 

The DPPs said that it was around this time that the victim realised what her father was doing to her was wrong. 

She told him to stop but he assured her that it was okay for them to engage in sexual activities as long as nobody knew, the DPPs said. 

“Leveraging their close relationship, the accused impressed upon the victim that she would lose a father if anyone learnt about their sexual activities,” they said. 

“Despite the victim’s discomfort and initial resistance, she ultimately grew accustomed to the sexual assaults by virtue of their sheer frequency.”

The abuse continued after her parents divorced between 2012 and 2013 and she went to live with her older brother and the accused.

In December 2013, she could not tolerate the abuse any more and ran away to her mother. 

However, she returned to live with the father after he asked for a second chance and vowed to stop all sexual activities with her. 

The man is said to have continued the abuse despite his promise to stop and the victim again sought refuge with her mother in late 2014. 

He agreed to let her live with her mother on the condition that she did not reveal the incidents of sexual abuse to anyone.

The matter came to light in 2017 when the victim confided in her stepfather about what had happened to her and eventually told her mother as well. 

The girl then filed a police report against her father on Nov 19 that year.

The DPPs said that the victim is the prosecution’s main witness and she will testify that she kept silent for years because the accused had “constantly reminded” her not to tell anyone and she feared the consequences. 

The victim’s brother will also be testifying that he was awoken from sleep once in 2013 when he heard her telling the accused to “stop” because she was in pain.

The DPPs said the accused’s defence is one of bare denial.

Before the trial started on Tuesday, the accused contested four statements that he had recorded with the police and an ancillary hearing began.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jerald Xu testified that the accused broke down in tears at one point when recording a statement with him on Nov 23, 2017.

ASP Xu said that the accused said then that it was painful for him to talk about the events, adding that he felt that he had wronged his family for what he did to his daughter.

After this, the accused appeared remorseful and was teary on and off throughout the statement-taking session, he added.

The ancillary hearing and trial is expected to continue for the rest of the week.