Man gets jail, caning for sexually abusing step-daughter
Man gets jail, caning for sexually abusing step-daughter
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 10 December 2010 1736 hrs
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="260"> <tbody><tr> <td align="right" width="20"></td> <td align="right" width="240">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="60" valign="top"></td> <td class="update" height="80" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="138">
Photos </td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="47">
1 of 1</td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="18">
<input disabled="disabled" id="btnPrev" value="<< Previous" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_previous.gif" height="15" type="image" width="18"></td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="19">
<input id="bntPlay" value="Play - Stop" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_stop.gif" height="15" type="image" width="19"></td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="18">
<input disabled="disabled" id="btnNext" value=" Next >> " src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" height="15" type="image" width="18"></td> </tr> </tbody></table>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td class="update"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td>
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
SINGAPORE : A 42-year-old man was sentenced on Friday to 44 months' jail and given 12 strokes of the cane for sexually abusing his step-daughter.
The plump and dark complexioned man cannot be named to protect the girl's identity.
District Judge Roy Neighbour found him guilty of seven charges last Friday after a five-day trial.
The man first molested the girl who was then 12 years old in 2007 by touching her chest in a flat located in northern Singapore.
But the acts of abuse soon escalated and by 2009, he made the girl perform a sexual act on him without her consent.
In mitigation, the man's lawyer, S K Kumar told the court that his client was untiring in his efforts to raise the children in his family.
He added that his client was a good man who had given himself fully to his loved ones.
Mr Kumar also said that the length of the sentence wasn't dependent on whether or not his client had claimed trial.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amarjit Singh said that the girl had to recount the trauma and agony of her ordeal when she testified before the court.
This was an aggravating factor, said DPP Singh.
Shortly after his client was sentenced, Mr Kumar told the court the man would be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He was offered a bail of S$25,000.
For making the girl perform the sexual act on him, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined or both.
And for outraging the girl's modesty, the man could have been jailed up to five years and fined or caned.
- CNA /ls
