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Man who raped late girlfriend’s 14-year-old daughter jailed, caned

Person's hands holding prison bars. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
Person's hands holding prison bars. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — A 43-year-old man who raped his late girlfriend's daughter after giving her an alcoholic drink was on Monday (8 March) jailed for 13 years along with 12 strokes of the cane.

At the time of the offence in 2019, the victim was 14 years old while the man was 41. She treated him as her father.

The culprit pleaded guilty at the High Court to one charge each of rape and sexual assault by penetration.

He cannot be named to protect the victim's identity.

Victim treated culprit as father

The man worked as a cleaner and lived with his brother and mother. He was in a relationship with the victim's late mother although the couple never married.

The mother had three children in total. The victim's older step-sister and younger step-brother were fathered by the man. The victim has never met her biological father.

When her mother was still alive, the victim, her two step-siblings, the man and the mother lived together at her flat for a few years. The victim regarded the man as her father and addressed him as such.

After the victim's mother died in 2014, the man and the victim kept in contact although they did not live together. She also visited his mother's flat as she regarded the latter as her own grandmother.

Culprit sexually assaulted victim

On 5 July 2019, the man bought alcoholic beverages for himself and the victim and went to a coffee shop for lunch. She did not think much of it and drank about half the bottle, which had a low percentage of alcohol. They then took a bus to his mother's flat.

Shortly after they arrived, the man's mother and brother left the flat. The victim lay on the floor while watching television and fell asleep shortly after.

As she lay on the floor, the man locked the door and closed the windows of the unit and hugged her waist. When she woke up, he made her remove her trousers and panty and then raped and assaulted her, telling her that he loved her and wanted to marry her. She froze in fear and cried.

The victim then went to the toilet and and sent text messages to a friend to say that she had been raped. Later, when the man and the victim went to some nearby shops, the victim flagged a taxi and headed back to a shelter where she was staying. On the way, she also called her social worker and told her that she had been raped.

The social worker and her supervisors brought her to hospital for a check up and police investigators found the man's DNA on the victim's underwear.

The victim had nightmares after the incident and also slashed herself out of guilt, but felt better after receiving therapy.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Han Ming Kuang and Delicia Tan sought the sentence that was meted out.

"This case strikes at the very conscience of any civilised society. To satiate his perverse carnal instincts, the accused utterly and thoroughly abused the victim’s trust reposed in him as a fatherly figure when he sexually exploited her. The accused’s deviant conduct was nothing short of abhorrent," said the prosecutors.

For rape, the man could have been jailed for up to 20 years along with a fine and caning.

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