Man who raped two teenage stepdaughters after gaining their trust jailed 28 years, caned

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man sexually assaulted his teenage stepdaughter, eventually escalating to raping her and her older sister over a period of nearly a year, according to a report by TODAY.

For his actions, the 38-year-old man was sentenced to 28 years' jail and 18 strokes of the cane by the High Court on Monday (Sep 6). He cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victims.

The assaults against the two sisters, aged 14 and 16 at the time, took place from September 2017 to July 2018.

The sisters confided in each other but did not report the man as they were afraid he would be jailed like their biological father and the family would collapse without his financial support, according to TODAY.

The offences were discovered after the younger girl learnt she was pregnant and told her mother about the assaults, mistakenly believing that she was impregnated by her stepfather, TODAY reported.

The man pleaded guilty to two charges of rape. Three other such charges and four counts of molestation were also taken into consideration for sentencing.

RAPED AT HOME

The man married the victims' mother in 2012. The mother was reportedly unemployed and financially dependent on him.

He showed his younger stepdaughter a lot of affection, and the sisters were emotionally closer to him than with their own mother, TODAY reported.

In December 2017, the family stayed in a Pasir Ris chalet for three days for a holiday.

The man returned to the family's flat to feed their pet cats during this time. His wife, who was not aware of the assaults, asked her younger daughter to accompany him, TODAY reported.

He proceeded to rape the younger girl in the flat. According to TODAY, the man claimed that he did so because he was aroused and had not had sex for some time.

The man also raped his older stepdaughter twice within four months while alone in the flat.

On Jul 14, 2018, after the older girl had been raped a second time, she confided in her younger sister, who said that she had been targeted too, reported TODAY.

ASSAULTS DISCOVERED

Four days after that, the younger girl went to the hospital as she had been suffering back pains while playing sports. A magnetic resonance imaging scan showed that she was 21 weeks pregnant, according to TODAY.

The girl then reportedly told her mother about the sexual assaults and her fear that she was impregnated by her stepfather. She went on to seek an abortion and a DNA test revealed that she was carrying her boyfriend's baby.

A police report was lodged against the girl's stepfather. When the man did not pick up a call from the police, a police gazette was issued for his arrest. He eventually surrendered at the Police Cantonment Complex on Jul 23, 2018, reported TODAY.

When the older girl visited the man in remand, he reportedly pleaded with her to drop the charges or reduce the severity of the allegations, but she ultimately did not change her account.

A psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health who examined the man found that he had no mental disorders or illness at the time, reported TODAY.

The man had abused his stepdaughters' trust in a "sordid and abhorrent" manner, TODAY cited Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhamad Imaduddien and Chong Kee En as saying.

For each offence of rape, the man could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned.