Man sentenced to jail for molesting his daughter while she slept

SINGAPORE: A 54-year-old man who molested his daughter while she was sleeping was sentenced to 15 months' jail on Thursday (Aug 2).

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, was also given an additional six weeks' jail in lieu of caning. He cannot be caned as he is more than 50 years old.

The court heard that the man's daughter, 22, had gone to her room to sleep on Oct 4 last year. She was woken up at about 4am by someone touching her, and felt a hand molesting her under her underwear.

She opened her eyes slightly and saw the accused squatting beside her bed, with his left arm extended towards her.

She adjusted herself and reached out to take her phone, and her father retracted his hand and walked out of her bedroom.

The woman was afraid and felt violated, Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yi Ling said.

She told her mother and aunt about what happened and filed a police report the following month, saying that she had been molested by her father.

Investigations revealed that the accused had sexually assaulted his daughter in a similar fashion since mid-2013, when she was 17. He would enter his daughter's room while she was asleep and molest her.

The prosecution on Thursday asked for a jail sentence of 15 months and six weeks, which the judge agreed with.

There was skin-on-skin contact, premeditation and an abuse of trust, said the prosecutor.

The man pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal force intending to outrage his daughter's modesty.

He told the court through an interpreter that he had many responsibilities at home and had to pay for his mortgage and utilities.

"My wife just started work earning a small income," he said. "I am remorseful."

District Judge Kessler Soh told him: "After you are released from prison, you have to make sure you don't do that again."

He could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.