SINGAPORE, July 3 — The youngest of four brothers who sexually abused their youngest sister was today sentenced to nine years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane. He was the last of the four to be dealt with by the courts.

The teenager, now aged 19, had committed the acts against his sister between 2019 and 2022 when he was aged 13 to 16, often when she was asleep.

The girl, now 14, was aged eight to 12 years old during the period of the assaults.

None of the siblings can be named to protect the victim’s identity.

The teen had pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated rape in March.

Another six charges — involving aggravated rape and sexual assault — were taken into consideration during sentencing.

In May, the oldest brother, 23, was sentenced to 20 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to eight charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration.

That same month, the second brother, 22, was sentenced to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane. He had pleaded guilty to three charges of aggravated rape.

The third brother, 20, was sentenced to reformative training for at least 12 months last month after pleading guilty to a single charge of aggravated sexual assault by penetration.

In her brief sentencing remarks on Wednesday, Justice Mavis Chionh noted the third brother’s sentence but added that the youngest brother’s case was more egregious.

This is because the youngest brother had sexually assaulted his younger sister for an "extended period of at least three years”, while the third brother’s offending was during a shorter period of about a year.

She added that the third brother did not face any aggravated rape charges, unlike the youngest brother.

As the sentence was meted out, the teenager showed no emotions, but would often steal glances at his parents who were in court. The parents were allowed to speak to him after he was sentenced.

What happened

The court heard that the victim had four brothers and two sisters. She is the oldest of the girls.

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

The boys slept in a bedroom referred to in court documents as the boys’ room, while the girls shared the "girls’ room”.

While he and the other brothers were not allowed to enter the girls’ room — except to use the mirror to brush their hair — the teenager would go into the girls’ room to sexually assault the victim.

He did so even when his other sisters were sleeping there. He also abused the girl in their parents’ room and the boys’ room.

Court documents stated that the teen "claimed that he has a ‘porn addiction’”. He also "chose” to sexually assault the victim instead of his other sisters because she "trusted him the most and would not report him to anyone”.

Throughout the years of abuse, the girl did not dare to inform anybody of the assaults. She felt stressed and sad but "would just pretend to be happy by putting on a fake smile”.

However, she mustered the courage to inform her school of her brothers’ sexual abuse on Feb 10, 2022. The school then alerted the authorities.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhamad Imaduddien, Lim Ying Min and M Kayal Pillay sought a sentence of nine to 10 years’ jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.

Harjeet Kaur from law firm Withers KhattarWong, who represented the teenager, asked the court to take into account his young age and his full cooperation with the authorities.

She called for reformative training, or the minimum sentence for rape of eight years and 12 strokes of the cane for each charge to run concurrently.

‘Deterrence and retribution’ main sentencing factors

Justice Chionh said that she had called for a reformative training report on March 12 because she "had yet to make up (her) mind on the appropriate sentencing”.

However, having read the reports and submissions by the prosecution and defence, she said that the main sentencing factors had to be "deterrence and retribution”, rather than rehabilitation.

Justice Chionh pointed out that the teenager’s actions were against a vulnerable younger girl who was a family member, and she was targeted due to her trust in him.

"He raped and sexually assaulted the victim... and exposed her to the risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.”

However, she did take into account the teenager’s age, his cooperation with the police and the fact that he did not re-traumatise his sister by contesting the charges in a trial.

The judge added that the sentence would still allow the teenager to rehabilitate himself within the structured environment of prison.

She hoped that he would have access to counselling services while in jail so that he can "fully appreciate the previous effect his actions has had on his younger sister”. — TODAY