Man jailed for sexually abusing 2 of his 4 stepdaughters, caught only when eldest girl stepped in

SINGAPORE: A man who sexually abused two of his four stepdaughters and begged his wife not to file a police report was sentenced to 12 years and 10 months' jail on Monday (Feb 5).

Of this, six months is in lieu of caning as the man is 52 and cannot be caned.

All parties cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, who are now 24 and 28. They are the youngest of the four daughters.

The man pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault, carnal intercourse against the course of nature and outrage of modesty, with three other charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that the man met the mother of the victims in 2005. She already had four daughters at the time.

That same year, the woman and her daughters moved in with the offender, with the girls addressing him as their father.

In end-2005, the mother of the victims was jailed for a crime unspecified in court documents.

In her absence, her daughters were entrusted to the offender's care.

OFFENCES AGAINST THE FIRST VICTIM

At that time, the first victim - the second youngest stepdaughter - was 10 years old. The offender sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping with her youngest sister at home.

On another occasion in 2005, the girl woke up because of her stepfather's sexual abuse.

She asked him to stop but he did not.

She knew that what her stepfather had done was wrong as she had attended sexual education classes in school.

She felt scared and ashamed and did not know how to go about telling someone about what he did to her.

After this, the first victim began distancing herself from her stepfather by staying out late at night and moving away from him when he came near to her.

In 2012, about a year before the offender married the victims' mother, the first victim was sleeping in a bedroom with her mother.

She was awoken by her stepfather sexually assaulting her and felt shocked and very scared.

After this, her stepfather told her not to tell her mother about what happened, and the girl complied.

MOTHER CATCHES HIM IN THE ACT

However, the mother found out a few months later in 2012.

The victim's mother was having a nap in the bedroom with the first victim and the offender when the mother woke up.

She saw her husband on top of her sleeping daughter in an incriminating position.

The victim's mother shouted: "Papa!"

The first victim woke up and started crying.

The victim's mother began arguing with her husband, heading to the living room to quarrel while the girl continued crying in the bedroom.

The victim's mother then shouted at the girl to go to the living room. She asked her what she had been doing with her stepfather.

The first victim said she did nothing and did not know what had been happening. Her mother then asked her how many times such things had happened with her stepfather.

Before the girl could respond, the man jumped in and lied that this was the first and only time.

Feeling that her mother would believe her stepfather over her, the girl kept quiet. 

Her mother then told her not to tell anyone about the incident.

OFFENCE AGAINST YOUNGEST STEPDAUGHTER

Several years later in January 2016, the stepfather turned his attention to the youngest stepdaughter, who was 16.

The girl had returned home after being discharged from hospital for a high fever. She took drowsy medicine and fell into a deep sleep.

The girl was awoken by her stepfather molesting her and saw him standing next to her. Thinking she was imagining things, she closed her eyes again.

However, she felt the man molesting her again and opened her eyes to see him still standing in front of her. When her stepfather realised she was fully awake, he walked away.

The second victim felt confused, bewildered, angry, disgusted and scared about what her stepfather had done. 

She confided in her mother about what happened and her mother confronted the offender. The man admitted touching his youngest stepdaughter.

He begged for forgiveness from his wife and the girl, asking them not to report him to the police. At the time, the girl decided not to lodge a police report.

In early 2022, the offender had an altercation with his wife and was admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).  

That same year, his wife filed for divorce from him.

DISCOVERY OF OFFENCES

After being discharged from IMH, the offender returned to live with the girls. The first victim was unhappy about this and told her sisters and mother about how she felt.

In May 2022, the first victim found out from her eldest sister that their mother had complained to the second-oldest sister that the first victim was not being fair to the offender by objecting to his return home.

This upset the first victim. She confided in her eldest sister that their stepfather had touched her sexually in the past, and that their mother knew about it.

The eldest sister then set up a group call with the first victim and the second-oldest sister. The first victim told her two older sisters about the sexual abuse she had suffered.

The next day, the two oldest daughters met their mother and confronted her about the sexual abuse against the first victim.

The youngest daughter overheard the conversation and began crying uncontrollably. She later told her sisters that their stepfather had also sexually abused her.

The first victim lodged a police report against her stepfather that same month and the police arrested him. He has since been remanded.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Wong Woon Kwong and Sivanathan Jheevanesh called for 10 to 13 years' jail, with another six months' jail in lieu of 11 strokes of the cane.

Mr Jheevanesh said the extra imprisonment should be given as the offender crossed the age of 50 after committing the offence.

"We say that he should be given imprisonment in lieu of the caning he has avoided, because he has avoided this caning by suppressing the discovery of these offences," he said.

Mr Jheevanesh said the offender had told the first victim not to tell her mother about the abuse, and also lied to his wife when caught in the fourth incident that it was the first time.

This was a lie and suppressed the detection of all the offending that had already taken place, said the prosecutor. 

He also begged both the second victim and his wife not to report him to the police when the final assault was discovered.

Mr Marshall Lim and Mr Lum Guo Rong from the Public Defender's Office asked for nine years and nine months' jail instead, with no jail time in lieu of caning.