SINGAPORE — An 18-year-old pleaded guilty in the High Court on Tuesday (March 12) to raping his sister when he was aged 13 to 16, often while the younger girl was asleep.

He is the second and youngest of four brothers to admit to sexually abusing their sister, who was eight to 12 years old at the time of the assaults.

Another brother — now aged 20 and the second youngest of the four — pleaded guilty earlier this year. He was the last of the group to begin his sexual assault on the girl.

Both brothers are facing the possibility of reformative training, with judges separately calling for reports to ascertain if they are suitable for it. Reformative training is a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.

All four brothers were between the ages of 13 and 21 when they committed the alleged offences against their sister between 2018 and 2022.

The older brothers are now aged 22 and 23 respectively.

The youngest brother pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of aggravated rape, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of eight years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Another six charges — comprising aggravated rape and sexual assault — will be taken into consideration for sentencing at a later date.

He is defended by Ms Harjeet Kaur from Withers KhattarWong, who sought the reformative training suitability report. The lawyer said in mitigation that her client was remorseful and unlikely to re-offend, and has learned an extremely bitter and painful lesson.

Ms Kaur also told Justice Mavis Chionh that if reformative training is ultimately found not to be appropriate, she is seeking the minimum sentence for rape.

Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Muhamad Imaduddien, Lim Ying Min and M Kayal Pillay are seeking nine to 10 years’ imprisonment and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.

They argued that while rehabilitation is generally the primary sentencing consideration for young offenders, deterrence or retribution can take centre stage depending on the circumstances of a case.

They also similarly sought imprisonment and caning for the first brother who pleaded guilty.

The remaining brothers’ cases are pending.

BOYS' AND GIRLS' ROOMS

The court heard that the victim, who is now 14, had four brothers and two sisters. She is the oldest among her sisters.

All seven children lived together with their parents in their family home, which had three bedrooms.

The boys stayed in a bedroom referred to in court documents as the boys' room, while the girls shared the "girls' room".

The children's parents set ground rules that the boys were not to go into the girls' room, unless it was to comb their hair using the mirror there.

The reason for this rule was that the three girls were still young while the four boys were mature. Whenever the kids' mother saw one of her sons in the girls' room, she would remind them not to stay inside.

However, the offender would go into the girls' room to sexually assault the victim, even when his other sisters were sleeping there. He also abused the girl in their parents’ room and the boys’ room.

He admitted to doing this at least seven times.

DPP Lim told the court that he had a “porn addiction” and that he “chose” to sexually assault the victim, rather than his other sisters, because he knew she trusted him the most and would not report him to anyone.

He often targeted her while she was asleep. If she woke up, he would tell her to keep quiet and not tell anyone. She would also try to resist by saying “don’t want” or by pushing him away.

On one occasion in 2021, they were alone at home when he called her into the boys’ room and raped her there. He was aged 15 or 16.

Court documents did not state if he knew she was being abused by their other brothers.

VICTIM PRETENDED TO BE HAPPY

Throughout the years of abuse, the victim did not dare to tell anyone. She felt stressed and sad but “would just pretend to be happy by putting on a fake smile”, the court heard.

On Feb 10, 2022, she finally summoned the courage to tell her school about the abuse. It was her dream secondary school as the teachers knew her family, and the offender had also studied there.

The school immediately alerted the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), which in turn informed the police. The offender was arrested on the same day.

The girl felt anxious and blamed herself for not stopping her brothers. She also felt bad for reporting them to the authorities, the court further heard.

She was examined by a psychiatrist at the Child Guidance Clinic, who noted that the girl had been having recurrent thoughts about the abuse.

The psychiatrist said the victim would benefit from a safe, supportive environment and counselling.

MOTHER DID NOT BELIEVE VICTIM

She was also referred to MSF’s Clinical and Forensic Psychology Service for an assessment of her emotional and behavioural functioning.

A senior clinical psychologist’s report showed that while she reported having positive relationships with her younger sisters, her relationship with her parents and brothers had been distant since childhood.

Her mother reported that she did not believe the abuse allegations, and expressed feelings of anger and disappointment towards the victim.

She blamed the girl for the consequences of the allegations, including the "adverse impact" on the brothers’ futures as well as the removal of one of the sisters from the family, DPP Lim told the court.

Meanwhile, the girl reported trauma symptoms such as hypervigilance and frequent strong feelings of disgust, fear and sadness. She was referred for trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy.

Following her therapy sessions, she displayed significant improvement and appeared to have “adequate well-being and functioning”.

Tuesday’s court hearing was held in camera, which meant the proceedings were closed to the public and media.

The court can hear proceedings in private if it is satisfied that it is expedient in the interests of justice, public safety, public security or propriety, or for other sufficient reasons. CNA