Father jailed for sexually abusing daughter over 3 years from when she was 6 years old
Photo illustration of a child in distress. (Photo: Jeremy Long/CNA)
SINGAPORE: A man with three daughters, who sexually abused the youngest for three years from when she was six, was jailed on Monday (Mar 23).
For a mix of sexual offences and consumption of methamphetamine, the 52-year-old man, who cannot be named because of a gag order protecting the victim, was sentenced to 18 years' jail.
He was given another six months' jail in lieu of 15 strokes of the cane as he is above 50 and cannot be caned, and fined S$700.
The court heard that the man was employed as a cleaner at the time of the offences between 2015 and 2017.
He lived with three daughters - two and four years older than the victim - that he had with his second wife.
His wife did not live with them in the two-room rental flat as she worked as a freelance sex worker at the time, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Eunice Lau and Eugene Teh.
The sexual abuse began in 2015 when the youngest daughter was six. The young girls and their father shared three mattresses in the living room at night, where the abuse mostly occurred.
He first kissed her in 2015, before molesting her and sexually assaulting her in the years that followed. When the girl was seven, her father carried her to his bed while his other daughters were fast asleep. He then forced the girl to perform a sex act on him.
She felt "helpless and alone" and "disgusted and upset" at her father after the sexual assault, said the prosecutors.
SHE FEARED NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE HER
However, she kept quiet about the sexual abuse because she feared that no one would believe her, or that she might be shunned because of her experience.
She was also afraid that her father would beat her, court documents said. Her mother was not present on all occasions of the sexual abuse and was eventually arrested by the police for prostitution-related activities and repatriated to Indonesia in 2017.
Sometime in 2018, the victim's older sister told her that a classmate had been sexually assaulted by a neighbour. Hearing this, the victim confided in her sister about their father's sexual abuse.
Her sister gave her advice, and the girl told her teacher about what happened. She later lodged a police report, saying she had been sexually abused by her father when she was in kindergarten, up until she was in Primary 2.
The girl was medically examined and she tested positive for gardnerella. She was given medication to treat the bacterial infection.
Her father was arrested on Jul 24, 2018, the day the report was filed.
He admitted to abusing meth or "Ice" about three days before his arrest, and said he did so two to three times a month, obtaining his supply from a man in Geylang.
OBSCENE FILMS FOUND ON HIS PHONE
His phone was seized and a forensic examination revealed 91 obscene films and seven films without valid certificates.
He was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have a history of substance abuse disorder, including sedatives, alcohol, meth and opiates.
He pleaded guilty to four charges on Monday of sexual assault by penetration of a minor, consumption of meth and Films Act charges.
Another eight charges of molesting or sexually assaulting his daughter were taken into consideration.
The prosecution asked for at least 18 years' jail, with an additional six months in lieu of caning as the man is above 50 and cannot be caned.
They listed his previous convictions dating back to 1991, including theft, unlawful carnal connection with a 14-year-old girl and multiple drug offences.
They said the man "callously and persistently abused his youngest biological daughter over a protracted period of three years", making his first sexual advance against her when she was six and sleeping beside him.
"He continued to violate the young victim's identity by performing increasingly intrusive sexual acts on her," said the prosecutors.
For sexual assault by penetration of a minor, he could have been jailed between eight and 20 years. Had he been below 50, he could have been given at least 12 strokes of the cane.
