Man jailed for sexually assaulting young daughter over 4 years

SINGAPORE — From 2010 to 2013, he preyed sexually on his daughter, who was then still in primary school, several times in their own home when his wife was out working late.

His offences only came to light in 2017 when the girl, who was in secondary school by then, told her boyfriend what her father had done to her.

On Monday (May 13), the man — who is now 53 years old and cannot be named to protect the 16-year-old girl’s identity — was sentenced in the High Court to 12-and-a-half years’ jail. This included an extra year behind bars in lieu of 24 strokes of the cane, as he is above 50 years old and cannot be caned by law.

The former retail sales supervisor pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault by penetration and one count of aggravated outrage of modesty, with another five similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that he started committing the offences when the girl was only eight years old. He was 45 at the time.

His wife worked as a sales promoter, often returning home late as she had to work the night shift. The couple’s relationship had grown strained at this point due to financial problems.

The victim has an older sister and a younger brother but she was particularly close to her father as she often sought his help for her homework.

On one occasion in 2010, when the girl was in Primary 2, she asked for help for her mathematics homework.

He told her to go to his bedroom before closing and locking the door. He then removed his pants and told her to give him oral sex, which she did.

After a few minutes, when his six-year-old son knocked on the door, he told her not to say anything to her siblings or mother. He then helped her with her homework after attending to the boy.

Sometime that same year, when she was watching television in the living room, he again told her to go to his bedroom.

He got her to lie down on the bed and rubbed himself against her for five to 10 minutes. Again, he told her to keep it a secret.

In 2011, he went further and got her to perform a sex act on him in his bedroom, while his other children were sleeping in the living room.

EXPOSING THE FATHER'S DEEDS

About five years later, the girl began dating one of her Secondary 2 schoolmates. Over the next few months, she began to confide in him about what her father had done to her.

The boy advised her to tell her mother, but she was afraid that the disclosure would break up the family.

She eventually opened up to her mother around June or July 2017.

Her mother then confronted the man, who admitted his actions and asked the girl for forgiveness during a meeting among the three of them. They decided to let the matter rest.

On March 19 last year, the girl’s boyfriend and her father got into a fight when he saw them walking home together. He and his wife were not supportive of their relationship.

Later that week at a parent-teacher session, the girl's mother complained to the teacher that she had been going home late, and blamed the boy for being a bad influence on her. When the teacher spoke to the girl later, she broke down and spilled the beans about the sexual abuse.

The school alerted the Ministry of Social and Family Development, and arranged for the girl to be accompanied to the police station to file a report.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Asoka Markandu and Kayal Pillay sought at least 13 years’ imprisonment, saying there were aggravating factors such as the “persistent nature” of the father's offences and the “exploitation of an exceptionally vulnerable victim”.

The man’s lawyers Wendell Wong and Bryan Wong — assigned to him through the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme — argued for 10 years’ jail instead.

They noted that he had shown genuine remorse and accepted his wrongdoing from the beginning. During the 2017 meeting, he had kneeled before his daughter, asked for forgiveness and asked her to report him to the police, they added.

In sentencing the man, Justice See Kee Oon said that although the man was remorseful, his offences were grave and involved a vulnerable victim.

For aggravated sexual assault by penetration, the man could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned. For aggravated molestation, he could have been jailed up to five years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.