According to a media release, a 52-year-old man was sentenced to 26 years of jail with additional jail term in lieu for caning after he raped and sexually assaulted his then 13-year-old stepdaughter. The accuse face 3 charges of statutory rape, with 6 other charges of rape and sexual assault taken into consideration during his sentencing.
The man cannot be caned as he has passed the age of 50 years old.
“Why don’t you try it yourself?”
The incident happened in 2013, the victim approached the accuse to ask about sex after hearing her classmate talking about it. Instead of explaining it to the victim, the accuse told the victim to try it for herself and asked if she wants to have sex.
The victim rejected the accuse in fear of getting pregnant. The accuse then told the victim that using a condom could prevent pregnancy.
He then took the victim to staircases and empty flats and raped her multiple times in a period of a few months. The accuse had even taken pictures and video of him raping the victim on a few occasions. He only stopped when he found out that the victim found a boyfriend as he feels that she was “dirty” after having sex with another man
Pregnant with his child
After the victim was raped by the accuse between Jul to Aug 2013, she realised that she might be pregnant after having morning sickness. She told the accuse about it and her pregnancy was later confirmed after she did a pregnancy test.
The accuse was worried that he is the father of the child and told the victim not to say a word. The accuse then bought pineapple juice and fermented rice for the victim to consume in an attempt to miscarriage the baby. However, it did not go as plan and the victim told her mother that the baby belongs to her boyfriend.
“He made me like this”
In 2014, the victim gave birth to a baby boy and the police investigated the case as she was underage. The victim was afraid that others will see the absence photos of her, she told the police that she had sex with her boyfriend. Besides, she also wanted to protect the relationship between the accuse and her mother.
In 2016, the victim gave birth to her second child fathered by her another boyfriend. When confronted by her mother about her sex life in early 2017, the victim then told her mother that is the accuse who “made her like this”.
The accuse admitted his action but the victim’s mother did not pursue the matter any further after the accuse and the victim confirmed that they did not have sex after the victim got pregnant.
In 2018, the victim once again gave birth to her third child fathered by her another man.
Police report
The victim only made police about the incident in 2018 after a child protection officer told her that they were worried about the safety of the victim’s daughter.
After going through a DNA test, it was confirmed that the accuse was the father of her first child.
Court Hearing
During the court hearing, the prosecutor has requested the court to sentence the accuse to “26 years of jail inclusive of a term in lieu of caning as the man has robbed the victim of her childhood.”
“It has come to a point where the victim no longer resisted his advances for sex” and the accuse has impregnated the victim at the age of 14. There was a serious abuse in position and trust in this case”.
However, the defence lawyers have requested the sentence to be 22 years of jail and argued that the man was uneducated and the victim is now happily married while the child fathered by the accuse was cared for by his grandmother.
They also argued the sentence requested by the prosecutor was manifestly excessive and urged the court not to implement the additional jail term in lieu for caning.
According to the law, for each charge of statutory rape, the accuse could be jailed for 20 years and fined. He cannot be cane as he is above the age of 50 years old.