Man who raped his step-daughters gets 28 years' jail, 18 strokes of cane
SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old man who repeatedly raped his two underaged stepdaughters was on Monday (6 September) jailed for 28 years with 18 strokes of the cane.
The culprit, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims – who were aged 14 and 16 at the time of the offences in 2017 and 2018 – pleaded guilty at the High Court to two charges of rape involving each victim.
Another seven similar charges were considered in sentencing: two counts of rape and four counts of aggravated molest involving the younger victim, and one count of rape involving the older victim.
About the case
The man lived with the victims since 2011, when they were 7 and 9, and married their mother in 2012. The victims treated the man as their father and addressed him as such. They were closer to him than to their biological father. At times, they were even emotionally closer to him than to their mother.
In September 2017, the younger victim, who was then 14, came home from school early as she was sick. Her mother and sister were out and she was alone with the man. As she lay on the bed, the man suddenly sat beside her, pulled down her shorts and panties, and molested her.
He similarly assaulted the younger victim on two other occasions that month, and on another occasion in March the next year.
In December 2017, the man also raped the younger victim when they were alone at home. He raped her again on two other occasions in February the next year when she came home early from school.
The victim did not know how to avoid the assaults, and did not report the matter as she was afraid of the man. She also feared the consequences of the man going to prison as there would be no income for the family, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhamad Imaduddien and Chong Kee En.
In March 2018, the man also raped the older victim. She woke up from sleep to find him molesting her. He then raped her. The victim, who was then 16, was shocked and unable to push him away or scream. Afterwards, the man pretended as if nothing happened.
About four months later, the man similarly raped the older victim, waking her up from sleep while they were alone at home. The victim remained silent in fear, afraid to scream for help. She did not report the matter as she was embarrassed and also did not know how to express what had been done to her, said DPPs Imaduddien and Chong.
The next morning, the older victim confided in the younger victim about what the culprit did, and the younger sister also revealed her ordeal.
On 18 July 2018, the younger victim went for a magnetic resonance imaging scan due to back pain and the scan revealed that she was 21 weeks' pregnant, although the culprit was later not found to be the foetus' father. Both victims then told their mother about what the man did to them. The culprit was arrested shortly after.
The younger victim later underwent an abortion. A DNA test revealed that her boyfriend had impregnated her in February 2018.
In asking for the sentence that was meted out, the prosecutors said, "Rape represents the gravest of all sexual offences. But the rape of a child by a parent, must surely rank among the most horrific of crimes."
For each of his two proceeded rape charges, the man could have been jailed for 20 years, and fined or caned.
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