Youth admits to repeatedly molesting niece for years, stopped when she hit puberty

SINGAPORE — A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty on Friday (April 8) to molesting his niece repeatedly from 2014 to 2017, when she was aged between nine and 12.

He stopped violating her when she began menstruating. It was only in May 2020, when her stepfather confronted her about messages that she had sent to her ex-boyfriend, that his offences came to light.

The Singaporean cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity. He committed the offences when he was aged about 15 to 18.

District Judge Brenda Tan called for a report to assess if he is suitable for probation, which is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. 

This does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

The youth pleaded guilty to three counts of molesting a minor under 14, with another three charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing next month.

The court heard that he and his niece lived together with other family members in a public housing flat since she was born in 2005.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min told the court that the youth molested his niece an estimated 10 times every year, and acknowledged the risk that he could have accidentally sexually penetrated her.

One night in 2014, they were sleeping in the same room as her brother. She then woke up when the accused carried her from where she was sleeping on a pull-out bed and placed her face-down on the lower deck of a bunk bed.

He undressed her and rubbed his groin against hers for several minutes, before putting her clothes back on and placing her back on the pull-out bed.

The victim was scared and pretended to be asleep.

This happened again on many occasions afterwards. He also violated her further by touching her chest once, among other acts.

He stopped doing these in 2017 when she first got her period.

Their relationship improved two years later when he began talking to her and her younger brother about school and life. She “stopped resenting him as much”, DPP Tin said.

In May 2020, when the girl’s stepfather confronted her about messages she had sent to her ex-boyfriend, she tearfully revealed what her uncle had done. Her stepfather then helped her to lodge a police report.

In mitigation, the man’s lawyer Zero Nalpon said that his client was ignorant of the law at the time, and stopped the molestations “without being exposed or being forced to do so”.

Anyone convicted of molesting a minor can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or punished with any combination of the three.