Jail, caning for man who molested lover's 11-year-old sister; claimed she lied to hide porn habit

SINGAPORE — After showing a pornographic video to his lover’s underaged sister and molesting her, her mother caught him half-naked in her flat while the girl hid in a toilet.

He then left the flat, where he had been staying with the girl's family, for good later that night, but not before leaving a note that said: “TQ (Thank you) for all. One day you will all know that I never do mistake no prob. I will come for my son. This is my family. TQ.”

On Wednesday (Feb 16), the accused, now aged 26, was jailed for five years and nine months as well as given five strokes of the cane. He and all other parties involved cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victim’s identity.

The Malaysian man was found guilty after contesting one charge of molesting the 11-year-old girl, while causing wrongful restraint by holding onto her hands on Feb 7, 2018.

District Judge Ng Peng Hong rubbished his claims during the trial that the victim had been watching pornography on her mother’s mobile phone and was lying to cover this up.

In a statement that he had given to the police after his arrest, he had confessed to drinking alcohol with some friends and watching pornography before molesting the girl.

The man, represented by Mr Md Noor E Adnaan from law firm WongPartnership, remains out on bail after lodging an appeal against his conviction and sentence.

WHAT HAPPENED

In her trial submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Claire Poh told the court that the victim’s family’s plight was “apparent and compounded by their impoverished situation”, adding: “This case is a family tragedy precipitated by the accused’s consumption of alcohol and pornography.”

When the victim’s father died in 2015, the family moved into a rental flat along Spooner Road near Bukit Merah. Her mother then took up a cleaning job at her primary school.

The accused entered the family’s life after impregnating the victim’s older sister, who was about 22 years old at the time.

Their son was born in December 2016 and the accused was allowed to live with them. He had been commuting to Singapore daily from Malaysia before that.

He then took on the responsibility of providing for them, handing his entire salary over to the victim’s mother for household expenses. Court documents did not state what his occupation was.

Even after his lover decided not to stay at the flat anymore in November 2017, he continued living there.

He doted on the victim and bought her gifts such as sneakers and stationery, while the victim’s mother regarded him as her own son.

On Feb 7, 2018, he left work at 5.30pm and then went drinking with some friends. He then returned to the flat in the evening after the girl's mother had left.

The girl testified in court that while she was doing her homework, he called her over to the bed he was lying on. He had taken off his shirt and told her he wanted to show her a video on his phone, which she realised had naked people in it.

When she shut her eyes, he held her hands. She began shouting and he held her leg down before removing her pants and molesting her for a few seconds, she further testified.

He only stopped when his phone rang and she managed to run to the toilet, locking the door behind her. Her mother testified that she returned home then and realised the accused was half-naked and that his “face changed completely”.

She confronted him and asked why her younger daughter had not called her. He then retrieved the girl’s phone from underneath the pillow.

The older woman then tried to open the toilet door to no avail. She had to get a spoon to unlatch the hook lock of the door, then took her daughter to a neighbour’s home before confronting him.

She told the court that he responded: “I knew… you would put this fault on me.” She then said he should leave the flat and never return.

He complied, leaving his toddler son behind. When he met his lover sometime later and she pressed him on whether he had really done something to the girl, he replied: “When the time comes, I tell you.”

DPP Poh told the court that following the molestation, the victim’s studies were adversely affected and she failed multiple subjects in school.

The prosecutor also pointed to her trauma during the trial, where she began “shaking uncontrollably” when cross-examined by the defence and had broken down more than once.

The man could have been jailed for at least three years and up to 10 years, as well as caned.