18 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane for man who raped, sexually assaulted younger sister

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18 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane for man who raped, sexually assaulted younger sister​

The inappropriate touching progressed to sexually penetrative acts when the victim was six to seven years old and the perpetrator was 13 to 14 years old.

PHOTO: ST FILE

Selina Lum


Published May 18, 2026, 02:44 PM
Updated May 18, 2026, 04:17 PM

SINGAPORE – He was 12 to 13 years old when he began inappropriately touching his younger sister, who was then five to six years old.

The sexual abuse eventually escalated to rape, which continued until the victim was 12 years old.

On May 18, the perpetrator, who is now 26 years old, was sentenced to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a charge of rape and two charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration.

Eight other charges, for sexual offences ranging from outrage of modesty to rape, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The man admitted that he sexually abused the victim between 2012 and 2019, when she was between five and 12 years old, and he was between 12 and 19 years old.

In sentencing the man, High Court Judge Mavis Chionh considered that the offences were committed over an extended period of seven years.

Justice Chionh said the prolonged sexual abuse also resulted in grave psychological harm to the victim, who had engaged in self-harm by cutting her wrists.

The court was told that the perpetrator and the victim lived with their parents and two older siblings in a one-bedroom flat.

The incidents took place when nobody else was at home or when other family members were asleep.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai told the court that the first sexually penetrative acts occurred when the victim was six to seven years old and the perpetrator was 13 to 14 years old.

During this incident, the two siblings were alone at home when he made her perform a sex act on him.

On another occasion between 2017 and 2018, the perpetrator called the victim into the bedroom and she complied.

The DPP said that the victim, who was then between nine and 11 years old, understood that she was to engage in sexual activities with the perpetrator and proceeded to take off her clothes before the assault.

On another occasion in 2018, the perpetrator told the victim to go to the toilet with him while the rest of the family were sleeping.

He told her to perform a sex act on him in the toilet, but they stopped and got dressed when they heard noises from the living room.

In 2019, after raping the victim, who was then 12 years old, the perpetrator told her that he was too old to continue doing such things to her.

On March 22, 2022, the victim told her school counsellor that she had been sexually abused by her brother.

The counsellor reported the matter to the police, and the perpetrator was arrested on March 24 that year.

DPP Tai said the victim did not consent to all the sexual acts done to her.

“On several occasions when the victim resisted the accused, the accused shouted at the victim, pinched, punched her, slapped her on the cheek and pushed her,” said the prosecutor.

According to police figures released to The Straits Times on March 29, the number of sexual assault cases allegedly committed by family members or relatives involving victims below 16 increased from 184 cases in 2024 to 192 cases in 2025. There were 169 such cases in 2023.