Mother charged over failing to protect daughter from being raped by her son, omitting information
The State Courts in Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
SINGAPORE: The mother of a young man who raped his younger sister was charged in court on Monday (Oct 25) with knowingly permitting the ill treatment of a child and omitting information about a criminal offence.
The 43-year-old woman cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim.Â
The accused's son was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years' jail and seven strokes of the cane in January 2020 for raping his sister, and molesting her when she was a minor. Multiple other charges were considered in sentencing.
The woman's daughter was 12 years old when her brother, then 20, raped her in 2017.
His mother was given five charges on Monday. These are for intentionally omitting to give information on the criminal offence of rape and molestation of a minor, and for knowingly permitting her son to sexually abuse her daughter when she knew about it from as early as 2010.
According to the court case of her son, the accused allegedly noticed semen stains on her daughter's underwear in 2010 and asked her son if he had molested or "had sex" with the victim again.
She allegedly allowed the sexual abuse to continue between June 2017 and September 2017, and failed to take steps that she was reasonably expected to take to protect her daughter from such risk.
The accused was remanded on Monday. She said she would be applying for legal aid. The court heard that the Ministry of Social and Family Development is making arrangements for the accused's daughter to stay in a shelter.
The accused will return to court in November.
If convicted of knowingly allowing the ill-treatment of a child, she could be jailed up to four years and fined up to S$4,000.
If found guilty of intentionally omitting to give information about an offence, she could be jailed up to six months and fined per charge.
