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Father of six jailed for 10 years, caned for raping 11-year-old girl

SINGAPORE — A father of six young children preyed on an 11-year-old girl who called him “uncle” and told him she liked him.

The court heard that the man, who admitted raping an 11-year-old girl, had been a trusted neighbour.

The court heard that the man, who admitted raping an 11-year-old girl, had been a trusted neighbour.

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SINGAPORE — A father of six young children preyed on an 11-year-old girl who called him “uncle” and told him she liked him.

When she said she knew he was already married, he replied that “men (could) have four wives”. He also said that “age (is) just a number” when she asked if her age was a concern.

He first molested her in his flat, before luring her into his van and sexually assaulting her in a multi-storey car park.

The 37-year-old was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane in the High Court on Wednesday (July 17). He and his victim cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.

He pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape. Three other charges of committing an indecent act with a child, sexual penetration of a minor, and possessing three obscene films were taken into consideration for sentencing.

His sentence was backdated to June 13, 2018, when he was remanded and charged with his offences.

For statutory rape, he could have been jailed up to 20 years, and fined or caned.

CALLED HER ‘DARLING’

The court heard that the girl, who is now 13 years old and studying in secondary school, moved into the same block as the man in July 2017.

Shortly after, another neighbour introduced her and her family to the man. All three families grew close, and they would have gatherings at each other’s homes.

Sometime in early 2018, the girl’s stepfather hired the man to work in his transport company as an operations manager. He was assigned a delivery van as part of his job.

Behind their families’ backs, the man and the girl began chatting with each other on WhatsApp sometime in March that year. She sent him a message on March 16, saying she liked him.

He began calling her “darling”, and they sent each other pornographic videos.

On May 10 that year, he suggested that she come over to his flat at about 2pm, while no one else was home.

He told her to go into his bedroom and got her to lie down on the bed. When they started kissing, he reached under her T-shirt and groped her breasts, then molested her under her shorts. This lasted for about half an hour.

He then told her he needed to pick up his wife and children.

RAPED HER ON SOFA IN VAN

Five days later, at about 7.30pm, he asked her to meet him at the void deck.

He drove them to Deck 6A of a nearby multi-storey car park, joined her on the sofa at the back of the van, and raped her. He did not use a condom.

His offences were discovered about a month later. The girl’s parents had grown suspicious of their communications, and she confessed to engaging in sexual activity with the man.

The adults confronted him at his flat, where he confessed. Police officers arrested him that day.

He admitted to the police that he was not in any relationship with the girl, and he knew it was illegal to engage in sexual intercourse with a minor. He also told police officers that he had sex with her “for fun” and wanted to “entertain and let her experience the sexual acts”.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Kavita Uthrapathy and Lim Ying Min called it “a case of gross sexual exploitation”.

“It is clear that the accused had taken advantage of the victim’s naivety to exploit her for his own sexual gratification. Instead of advising the victim or informing her parents when the victim told him that she liked him, he began having personal and intimate conversations with her,” they said.

His lawyer, Mr Mohamed Fazal Abdul Hamid, said in his mitigation plea that his client was remorseful, co-operated with police investigations, and intends to turn over a new leaf.

The man is also the sole breadwinner of his family, and gives his ex-wife money to support their three children. His current wife is unemployed, and two of their children are in school, Mr Fazal added.

Related topics

court crime rape children

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