Man jailed, caned for repeatedly molesting 13-year-old daughter
SINGAPORE — A 47-year-old man who repeatedly molested his 13-year-old daughter was on Thursday (19 March) jailed for five years along with 12 strokes of the cane.
The perpetrator, who is a Singapore permanent resident from the Philippines, had pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three out of five charges of aggravated molestation.
The remaining counts were considered in sentencing.
The victim, now 16, and her father cannot be named to protect her identity.
Molested victim thinking she was sleeping
The victim lived with her parents, a younger sister and a domestic helper. As the father had flexible working hours, he would pick the victim up from school.
In November 2016, while the victim was lying on the bed in the master bedroom, the culprit pulled down her shorts and underwear and molested her. No one else was home and he thought that she was asleep. But the victim was awake and didn’t know how to react. After a while, the perpetrator dressed her and left the room.
In July the next year, the culprit again stripped the victim of her shorts and panties. This time, she was asleep. He then molested her. When she didn’t react, he removed his jeans and underwear and rubbed his penis against the victim, who then woke up. The perpetrator then went to the toilet and returned to dress the victim before leaving the room.
A few days later, on 26 July 2017, while the victim was awake, the culprit again pulled down her shorts and panties, and removed his jeans and underwear. He tried to position himself on top of the her but found it uncomfortable. He then lay down next to her and rubbed his penis against her before going to the toilet and returning to dress the victim.
Victim confided in school counsellor
On each occasion, the victim felt pain and discomfort but didn’t report the matter to her mother as she did not know how to tell her, the court heard.
On the last incident, she felt more pain than usual. The victim saw her school counsellor the next day and told her that her father had raped her. The school counsellor then alerted the Child Protective Service and the victim made a police report.
The Child Protective Service arranged for the girl to be removed from her parents’ care and placed in Grace Haven Home. She was later placed in the care of a foster family.
In June 2018, at the request of her mother, the girl was allowed to visit relatives in the Philippines during the school holidays. She has not returned to Singapore since.
The maximum punishment for each charge of using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a minor under 14 is up to five years’ jail, along with a fine and caning.
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