SINGAPORE, Aug 28 — A 36-year-old man was sentenced to 28 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Monday (August 26) for the repeated sexual abuse of his stepdaughter over a three-year period starting when she aged nine years.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of rape of a person younger than 14 years of age. Ten other rape charges and one charge of sexual assault involving penetration were also taken into consideration for sentencing.

The man was aged between 32 and 35 years old at the time of the offending, and his stepdaughter was between nine and 12 years old.

The man married the victim’s mother when the victim was around five years old.

The victim lived in a one-bedroom apartment with the man, her biological mother, her two elder biological siblings, and two younger step-siblings. Court documents stated that the victim called him “daddy”.

The offender, victim, and others cannot be named by court order to protect the victim’s identity.

Taught not to resist

The victim was nine years old when the man started sexually assaulting her on numerous occasions between 2019 and 2022.

In 2019, both the victim’s mother and one of the victim’s younger siblings fell seriously ill.

This led to the victim’s mother spending extended periods in the hospital. During this period, the man routinely found himself alone in the apartment with the victim.

Then, in 2020 and 2021, when the victim’s primary school introduced home-based learning (HBL), the victim attended virtual HBL classes from the apartment.

The man took advantage of these times when he was entrusted with caring for the victim to sexually assault her.

Court documents stated that he was able to commit the offences because of the nature of his relationship with the victim, which developed over several years.

The man was also a “strict disciplinarian” and frequently punished his children and step-children, including the victim when they disobeyed him.

When the victim disobeyed the man, he would make her eat wasabi and hold a dumbbell for extended periods of time. These punishments made the victim fear disobeying the man and made her more pliable to acquiesce to his demands.

The man also taught the victim not to resist his sexual demands and frequently initiated sexual contact with her.

These activities ranged from showering together and intimate touching before eventually escalating to raping her.

The prosecution noted that due to the “sheer frequency” of the sex acts, which occurred over several years, it conditioned the victim to believe that resisting the man would be futile.

What happened

In terms of the three proceeded charges, the man raped the victim on three separate occasions between January 2022 and August 2022.

On the first occasion, he was watching television in the living room with her when he asked her to sit beside him on the sofa, and she complied.

He then began caressing her and made her engage in a sex act.

She was fearful and yielded to his demands. After some time, he proceeded to rape her.

She cried in pain and asked him to stop, but he ignored her. He also told the victim not to tell anyone about what had happened.

He went on to rape the victim on two more occasions during the same period.

One was when her siblings were sleeping in the bedroom, and her mother was not home.

On a third occasion, he and the victim were watching television in the living room before he raped her. They were the only ones at the apartment.

Victim’s sister uncovered the abuse

The man’s actions were revealed on February 3, 2023, when the victim’s sister accessed the victim’s mobile phone and reviewed her messages on Instagram.

The victim’s sister discovered a series of messages between the victim and her friend, in which the victim revealed that the man had repeatedly raped her.

The victim’s sister told their mother about the messages. The victim’s mother asked the man to come to the apartment. Eventually, the victim’s biological father was informed, and he made his way to the apartment.

By this time, the man was no longer living in the apartment. He had moved out in August 2022 following a dispute with the victim’s mother.

When everyone was gathered in the living room of the apartment, the victim said: “Daddy rape me”. The victim’s biological father asked the man if what the victim alleged was true, and the man admitted that it was.

Upon hearing the man’s admission, a fracas ensued involving the victim’s father, mother, man and others. Court documents did not state who the other people were.

In the process, the man was injured although court documents did not specify the nature of his injury. The police were called, and they arrived at the apartment at about 8.10pm to break up the fight.

‘Suffered greatly’

The prosecution said the victim had “suffered greatly” as a result of the man’s actions and offences.

In the victim’s impact statement recorded on June 21, she revealed that she resorted to cutting her wrists in the hope that it would bring her relief.

She has experienced recurrent flashbacks about the man raping her, and she distanced herself from people because she had developed a sense of distrust towards others.

The prosecution added that the victim has “suffered in ways that are impossible to quantify”.

The victim’s relationship with her family has suffered, and she has endured feelings of worthlessness, added the prosecution.

The prosecution sought a sentence of 26 to 30 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

“No sentence will undo the devastating harm that the victim has suffered. But a deterrent sentence sends a clear message that any parent who sexually abuses a child in their care will face the gravest condemnation lawfully available,” said the prosecution.

For exploiting his relationship and raping someone below 14 years old, the man could have been jailed for up to 20 years’ and caned up to 12 times.

Those that sexually assault someone below 14 years old can be jailed for up to 20 years and caned up to 12 times for each charge. — TODAY