SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old man was on Thursday (Nov 21) sentenced to 11 years in jail and seven strokes of the cane for sexually abusing two young girls who were under his care.
The man cannot be named as he is related to the victims, who are sisters. He and their mother are cousins once removed.
He pleaded guilty to one charge each of sexual assault, molestation and committing an obscene act with a child.
Another 10 charges, mostly for molestation, were considered in sentencing.
The man acted as a guardian to the girls, and in 2019 was entrusted with taking care of them when their parents were working, the court heard.
He started molesting the younger sister that same year, when she was aged nine to 10, before also targeting the older sister.
The court heard that the man would sometimes stay over at the girls’ home, sleeping beside them in the living room.
From 2019 to 2021, he molested the younger sister on four occasions at night in the living room.
She felt very uncomfortable with the man’s actions and knew they were wrong, but was afraid to speak up, the prosecution said.
The man also committed sexual offences against the older sister on seven occasions from 2020 to 2021, when she was 12 to 14 years old.
In one instance in 2021, he molested the girl at Toys R Us at Vivocity, where they had gone to get a birthday present for the other victim.
Most of the offences involved him molesting her at home, and she would pretend to be asleep or stretch or roll to get away from him.
He escalated this to sexual assault late at night on Jan 17, 2022, when he and the girl were sleeping in the living room.
The victim was awoken by the feeling of the man touching her. She felt very disgusted by the assault and suffered flashbacks, the prosecutor said.
She remained deeply disturbed and two days later, told her secondary school teacher that she had been sexually assaulted.
The matter was referred to a child protection officer who alerted the police, and the man was arrested on the same day.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Claire Poh and Eugene Lau asked for at least 11-and-a-half years’ jail and seven strokes of the cane for the man.
They cited the victims’ vulnerability given their young ages, the abuse of trust placed in the offender, and the fact that the acts took place on the victims’ beds, which were meant to have been safe havens.
They also pointed to the psychological harm inflicted on the older sister, who still suffers flashbacks and nightmares triggered by reminders of the offender, such as a word or a passer-by who resembles him.
“Paradoxically, she also feels guilt and worry for her uncle,” the prosecutors said.
They also noted that the man had a relevant prior offence, as he was jailed for molesting a teenage girl in 2011.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Wong said his client was “consumed by remorse and shame” and argued that the offences were out of character for him.
He cited a report by an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist, which stated that the offender could benefit from psychological interventions to address any underlying issues that could have perpetuated his behaviour.
The lawyer argued this meant that there was hope for the man to treat the underlying cause of his sexual offences and completely reform himself.
However, the prosecutors said that there was no evidence of good rehabilitative prospects for him.
