18 years' jail, caning for man who sexually assaulted wife's sister from when she was 9
The man, now 40, also raped the girl after breaking into her bedroom when she was between 14 and 15 years old.
The State Courts in Singapore. (File Photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
Koh Wan Ting
11 Sep 2023 05:40PMBookmark
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SINGAPORE: A man who preyed on his wife's younger sister from when she was nine was jailed for 18 years and given 16 strokes of the cane on Monday (Sep 11).
The 40-year-old man, who cannot be named, would drive the girl to a secluded car park to commit sexual acts.
He continued forcing himself on her as she grew older, even breaking into her room to rape her when she was between 14 and 15 years old.
Reluctant to affect her sister's marriage and concerned that no one would believe her, the victim, now 21, stayed silent on her ordeal until last year, when she filed a police report at her boyfriend's behest.
The Singaporean man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty to one count each of rape and of sexual penetration of a minor under 14. Another ten charges involving sexual offences were considered for his sentencing.
The accused married the victim's eldest sister in 2009. He stayed in the same flat as his then-wife, their four children, the victim and her parents from 2009 to 2020.
According to the prosecution, the accused and victim shared a close relationship as she treated him as a brother and trusted him.
However, the accused sexually assaulted her after watching pornographic videos of sexual acts committed against young teenagers, said the prosecution.
He admitted that the victim would not have understood the acts due to her young age, and hence could not have consented to them, the prosecution added.
"The accused did not seek the victim’s consent to commit any sexual acts against her. She complied with what the accused asked her to do, as she did not know how to react, and she did not know what was going on as she had never engaged in sexual activities with others," Deputy Public Prosecutor Yohanes Ng said.
VICTIM FELT LIKE "SEX SLAVE"
The accused began sexually assaulting the victim from 2012, when she was only nine. He would drive her to a car park before sending her to school, or before sending her home after running errands. On one occasion, he sexually assaulted her at a flat he jointly owned with his wife.The acts continued as the girl grew up.
In 2017, when she was between 14 and 15 years old, the man broke into her room. The girl had locked the door and was video calling her then-boyfriend when the man used the key hung outside the room to unlock the door.
Upon seeing the accused trying to enter, the girl tried to push her television set in front of the bedroom door to stop him but was unsuccessful.
His wife was not at home then and the rest of the household was asleep.
He raped her and only stopped upon hearing the victim's mother opening the bedroom door. He then quickly left the room. Court documents did not state if the victim's mother saw or reacted to the act.
The court heard that the victim did not tell anyone about the offences as she wanted her family to be "on good terms", and because she did not want to make things “more messy”.
"She was also concerned that no one would believe her, and she also did not want to affect her sister’s marriage with the accused. She also felt close to the accused as he was a family member who occasionally gave her extra pocket money," said Mr Ng.
"However, she felt like the accused’s 'sex slave' due to his actions."
ACCUSED IS DIVORCED: DEFENCE
Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia sought between 18 and 20 years' jail with 16 to 20 strokes of the cane."Taking advantage of the victim’s youthful naivety, her trust in him, and her family’s trust in him, the accused performed a series of sexual acts on the victim when she was as young as 9 to 11 years old, and when she was about 14 to 15 years old," Ms Teo said in sentencing submissions.
"Such predatory behaviour is reprehensible and ought to be strongly deterred."
Meanwhile, the accused's lawyer, Ryan David Lim from the Public Defender's Office, argued for 18 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
Setting out the accused's personal circumstances, Mr Lim said that the man is divorced and gave up his matrimonial home to his ex-wife and their four children, aged eight to 12, and sleeps at his workplace.
He has "done his best to be a good father and son", and had paid a monthly maintenance of S$1,000 (US$735) before he was remanded.
The accused's mother has advanced cancer and he will likely not be able to spend her last days with her, said the lawyer. He will also miss his children's formative years.
Mr Lim added that the accused had started a relationship with another divorcee two years ago, but this was likely to "come to nothing" given the jail term.
In sentencing the accused, District Judge Terence Tay noted the "horror and helplessness" the victim must have felt when the accused forced his way into her room and realising she was not safe from him even in her own bedroom.
The judge gave mitigating weight to the man's plea of guilt, which saved the victim the ordeal of testifying and gave her the opportunity to move on with her life.
For sexual penetration of a minor under 14, the man could have been jailed between eight and 20 years, and given 12 strokes of the cane.
For rape, he could have been jailed up to 20 years, and fined or caned.
