SINGAPORE, April 2 — A 75-year-old paedophile was sentenced to 21 years and three months’ jail on Monday (April 1) for sexually abusing his daughter, granddaughter and sister-in-law when the victims were children.

He committed the acts between 1975 and 2021, and his crimes came to light only after a conflict between him and his daughter triggered the woman’s memories of the abuse.

During a family meeting following his daughter’s revelations to the family, the offender’s granddaughter revealed that she too had been a victim of his sexual abuse since she was four years old.

The man pleaded guilty in the High Court yesterday to four charges of using criminal force to outrage modesty, one charge each of aggravated sexual assault by penetration, sexual penetration of a minor and procuring an obscene act from a child.

These are related to acts he had done against his daughter and granddaughter

Another 28 similar charges were taken into consideration involving these two victims as well as his sister-in-law.

Court documents stated that the sexual abuse of the three victims spanned about 45 years:

• • The man abused his sister-in-law between 1975 and 1980 when she was aged six to 12 years old
• • The offender abused his daughter between 1981 and 1988 when she was aged four to 12 years of age
• • He abused his granddaughter between 2009 and 2021 when the girl was aged four to 17 years of age

The man and the victims cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities.

The man’s actions were described as "deplorable” by Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Selene Yap and Hidayat Amir.

Sexually abused daughter after work

According to court documents, the man sexually abused his daughter while she lived with him and the rest of their family.

Between 1984 and 1986, when she aged from seven to 10 years old, the man was working as a crane operator and would take her to work occasionally.

As the man worked, the girl would wait for him in the pick-up truck he was issued by his company.

After returning to the pick-up truck, the man would then molest his daughter and make her touch his private parts, occasionally telling his daughter he had done the acts out of love and insisting that it should be kept a secret.

Although she disliked his actions, she did not know at that time that they were wrong.

Sometime in 1987, his daughter attended a sex education lesson in upper primary school and learnt that her father’s actions were wrong.

"Nevertheless, (the victim) kept silent as she was embarrassed, and because the acts had already taken place for a long time,” court documents stated.

She then took action to prevent her father from sexually abusing her, such as not going with him to work, locking her room door and brushing away his hand.

However, he managed to sexually abuse her on at least one occasion when she forgot to lock her door sometime between 1987 and 1988. Court documents stated this was the last offence the man committed against his daughter.

In September 2003, the man, his wife, his daughter and her husband travelled to perform a holy pilgrimage known as the Umrah.

Having observed that her father appeared to be repentant and stated his willingness to perform another holy pilgrimage known as Hajj, the woman started to forgive her father.

Targetted granddaughter

In 2008, and now a mother, the woman and her husband were both working full-time and needed a caregiver for their children, a daughter, aged four, and her younger brother.

So they sent them to stay with her father, the offender, and her mother on weekdays, and would pick them up over the weekends.

Court documents stated that sometime around 2009 and 2010, the man called his granddaughter into the master bedroom and showed her a pornographic video.

A month later, he showed another pornographic video to the girl before asking her "mimic” the act in the video on him.

Although his granddaughter felt uncomfortable, he kept asking her to do so. Not knowing how else to react, she complied.

In 2013, the offender and his wife moved into his daughter’s home to take care of his grandchildren as the home was nearer to their primary school.

Between 2014 and 2019, the man sexually abused his granddaughter when they were home alone.

In 2015, the girl attended a sexual education class and understood that her grandfather’s actions were wrong, but was unable to stop the man from continuing with his acts.

The man largely stopped sexually abusing his granddaughter in 2019 as she would avoid being home alone with him and she started menstruating.

However, he committed the act once more in 2021 when they were alone. She was 17 years old then.

Revelation

On Sept 4, 2021, the offender and his daughter got into an argument when he installed a light fixture in her house without permission.

This had caused her to feel that the man was intruding into her personal space and triggered memories of his past offences against her.

She then actively avoided her father as her memories intensified, before confiding in her husband a few days later.

Her husband then informed the woman’s two brothers, who visited the home on Sept 13, 2021 to confront their father.

"The accused admitted that maybe he did so long time ago and said that he was sorry. When (his sons) asked him whether he had done anything similar to anyone else, the accused said no,” stated court documents.

After the conversation, he called his granddaughter and told her to not admit he had touched her inappropriately.

His sons checked the offender into a hotel for four nights. There, he texted his granddaughter to "help” him by keeping silent. She did not reply.

On Sept 14, 2021 at about 5.42pm, the man’s daughter made a police report against her father. Later, she and her husband had a family meeting with her daughter and son.

When her husband explained to the children that the man had sexually abused their mother, her daughter then stated he had done the same to her.

Court documents said that this shocked the family, and the mother and daughter both cried as she revealed details of the sexual abuse that she had been subjected to.

The man was arrested on Sept 16, 2021.

Court documents added that the man’s sister-in-law also stated that she was sexually abused by the man in June 2023 after learning from his daughter of his actions.

The documents also stated that the man was diagnosed a paedophile by an associate consultant with the Institute of Mental Health, and that his granddaughter was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

‘Deplorable’ case of intergenerational sexual abuse

DPPs Yap and Hidayat sought a total sentence of 20 to 23 years’ imprisonment, with an additional six months’ jail in lieu of caning.

This is because the man is now 75 and cannot be caned.

"The facts of this case speak for themselves. The accused is a diagnosed paedophile whose inter-generational sexual abuse began when he was between 26 and 29 years old, and only ceased close to half a century later when he was 72 to 73 years old, and only after (his daughter) reported the abuse to the police,” said the prosecutors.

"The accused represents the worst nightmare of a guardian: Sexual abuser of his biological daughter and biological granddaughter from when they were both as young as four to six years old.”

For using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person under 14 years old, the man could have been jailed for up to five years’, fined, caned or any combination of the three punishments.

For sexual assault involving penetration against a victim under the age of 14, the man faced between eight and 20 years’ jail, and no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane. However, as the man is above 50, he cannot be caned.

For sexual assault involving penetration against a person under the age of 16, the man also faced up to 10 years’ jail, a fine or both.

For procuring an obscene act from a child before July 20, 2011, the man could have been jailed up to two years, fined up to S$5,000 or both on his first conviction, and face double the penalties on a subsequent conviction.

For committing such an act after July 20, 2011, the man could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000 or punished with both on his first conviction, and jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$20,000 or both on subsequent convictions. — TODAY