Man accused of sexual misconduct with stepdaughter acquitted of charges
A man in handcuffs. Photo: Reuters
SINGAPORE — A man accused of committing indecent acts on his 13-year-old stepdaughter was acquitted of all charges on Thursday (Aug 25), after a High Court judge noted that the victim, who has a history of telling lies, has retracted her allegations against him.
The 42-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his stepdaughter’s identity, initially faced four charges: three counts of indecent acts under the Children and Young Persons Act and one count of sexual penetration. They were said to be committed in the afternoon of July 27, 2012.
The day was his stepson’s birthday and the family had gathered at a relative’s house for a party. On the same day, the stepdaughter told her teacher about the sexual acts that her stepfather had done to her. She also alleged that he had kissed her on the lips the day before.
Previously, she told the same teacher that her stepfather had tried to kiss her on the cheeks and lips.
She also told her best friend about the kiss and repeated similar lies to her aunt.
Three days later on July 30, the school told her mother about the alleged sexual abuse and when confronted, the stepfather was shocked and denied all accusations.
The teen then told her mother that she was in love with her stepfather, and was taken to a counselling centre. The girl had seen a psychiatrist before for chronic lying and stealing while living abroad between 2008 and 2010, and her school at the time had complained about her behaviour.
On Aug 1, the mother decided to lodge a police report when she heard about the sexual abuse from the aunt.
During the trial, when the girl took the stand, she often said that she could not remember the incidents or that nothing had happened.
She confessed under cross-examination by defence lawyer S K Kumar that she was angry and jealous because her mother had been spending more time with her stepfather. Furthermore, her family decided in June 2012 that they would emigrate to Brunei, leaving her behind until her Primary School Leaving Examinations were over.
“The thing about lying is that you don’t know when to stop, until you are trapped,” the girl told the court.
During his testimony, the stepfather said that the girl confessed her affections for him on multiple occasions, including on July 27 that year.
In Justice Woo Bih Li’s 33-page judgement, it was stated that the teen had sent the stepfather an SMS message saying she liked him, because his face resembled her ex-boyfriend’s. He replied to say that “she could only like him as a father”. Justice Woo said that the stepfather surmised that she had falsely accused him of sexual misconduct because he had rejected her and, perhaps, to get attention from the mother. Another possible reason was that she was upset that he was not taking her to Brunei, where he was supposed to work.
Accepting the testimonies of the girl’s mother and aunt that she had previously lied about her aunt hitting her with army boots and her grandmother throwing a stool at her, Justice Woo said that her history of lying meant that the court had to treat her accusations against her stepfather “with more caution”.
Asked if the girl would be charged with giving false information to a public servant, the Attorney-General’s Chambers told TODAY that it is looking into the matter and is “carefully considering the grounds of decision”.
