SINGAPORE — The young girl was so afraid of her stepfather’s lecherous behaviour that she pleaded with her sister to let her sleep in the upper bunk of their bed.

But this did not deter the stepfather, who had repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she slept on the lower bunk. 

When she moved to the top bunk, he simply climbed up and continued abusing her.

On Friday (Feb 7) in the High Court, the 55-year-old stepfather was sentenced to 24 years’ jail after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. 

Eight other charges, including attempted rape and molestation, were taken into consideration for sentencing. 

He cannot be named due to a court gag order to protect the victim’s identity. 

The court heard that he abused the girl over six years when she was aged between eight and 14. He was aged between 44 and 50 then.

His offences only came to light several years after the abuse, when she suffered an anxiety attack and told doctors that she had been sexually abused. She was diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder and expressed a desire to harm herself.

After the judge passed sentence, the man asked through an interpreter if he could speak to the victim, who was present in court and is now aged 20.

When she said she did not want to, Justice Thean allowed him to apologise to the victim in open court.

Addressing her directly, he said: “To (you) and the whole family, I wish to apologise for all the wrongdoings that I have done in this life and hereafter. I am really remorseful and I want to turn over a new leaf.” 

She left the courtroom in tears.

While the prosecution asked for an additional year of jail in lieu of 24 strokes of the cane, Justice Valerie Thean disagreed, saying that the length of imprisonment was substantial enough to be a deterrent and retributive one. 

Sexual assault by penetration of a minor under 14 carries a maximum punishment of 20 years’ jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane. 

However, offenders above the age of 50 cannot be caned by law.

STEPFATHER WAS THE ONLY ADULT PRESENT AT HOME

He had married the girl’s mother in 2006, and the whole family then moved to a one-room flat in the eastern region of Singapore.

He worked as a cleaner and would be home in the afternoon, while their mother typically got home close to midnight due to her shift hours at a factory.

As a result, he would be the only adult at home with the girl and her sister for extended periods of time, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Eugene Lee told the court.

He first molested the victim sometime before her ninth birthday in 2008. She had fallen asleep when he entered her bedroom, crouched down beside her and began touching her.

She kept still and pretended to be sleeping as she did not know what to do. 

After he left, she remained in her bed, “shocked and unsure of what to do”, said DPP Lee.

The stepfather began molesting her two to three times a week from then on, mostly at night but sometimes when she was taking an afternoon nap after returning home from school. 

In 2009, he sexually assaulted her for the first time. She felt uncomfortable and had difficulty walking, and confided in her classmate about the sexual abuse, adding that she did not wish to return home.

In 2011, she quarrelled with her younger sister over who should get to sleep in the upper bunk, thinking moving to the upper bunk would protect her from his assault.

However, even after her sister relented and they swapped bunks, the stepfather continued abusing the victim.

The abuse only stopped in 2014 when the stepfather was arrested and jailed for drug-related offences.

He was re-arrested in August 2018 for the sexual abuse and has been in remand since. 

A psychiatrist said that his past history of opioid use disorder had no causal link to his offences, and he did not suffer from any other mental illnesses either.

Both the prosecution and his lawyers — Ms Gloria-James Civetta and Ms Beverly Lim — sought 24 years’ jail, with the lawyers objecting to an additional jail term in lieu of caning. 

“The accused stole the victim’s innocence from her.. That period of her life, which should have been filled with happy recollections of school and friends, is instead irreparably corrupted by memories of shock, disgust and despair,” prosecutors told the court.