Singaporean Dad Who Raped A 12-Year-Old Girl For Over A Year Sentenced To 20 Years' Jail
He was also sentenced to 15 strokes of the cane.
By Sadho Ram — 13 Jul 2018, 02:47 PM
On Thursday, 12 July, the Singapore High Court sentenced a 47-year-old company director to 20 years behind bars and 15 strokes of the cane for raping an underage girl over a protracted period
While a total of 17 charges were being considered against the man during the sentencing, the man had pleaded guilty to only two charges of statutory rape and one charge of sexual penetration of a minor, when she was between 11 and 13.
The underage victim is said to be the former "girlfriend" of the man's 12-year-old son. She was abused by the man from December 2012 to May 2014 before she turned 13. Back in March, the man admitted to having sexually abused the minor.
During the trial, the defence sought 12 to 15 years' jail for his client, claiming he did what he did to cope with stress at work and at home
It was reported that the 47-year-old had come upon nude photos of the girl when he was accessing his son's Facebook account back in December 2012.
The girl had reportedly sent her nude photos to the boy via private message after he had asked for them. They knew each other through competitive swimming.
After finding the photos, the man had persuaded the girl to meet with him, under the pretext that he wanted to talk about her break-up with his son. The company director, however, drove the little girl to the Copthorne King's Hotel and raped her.
From that point on, the man, who is married, started manipulating the girl who was not even 12 at the time. She became a victim of sexual grooming in his hands as he would tell her he loved her and would shower her with gifts of expensive swimming costumes.
The little girl, unbeknownst to what the man was doing with her was not a form of love or care, kept meeting the man wherever he asked her to come.
The man would take advantage of the girl's innocence and persuade her into sleeping with him in carparks, hotels, and even the rooftop of her condominium.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Yiwen, while highlighting all this, said how the man used the minor as an "easy target" who he treated like a sex object and for whom he had no genuine feelings at all. He argued for 21 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin, while sentencing the accused to 20 years' jail, said the man, who was "old enough to be her father", took advantage of the "innocence and helplessness" of a minor and had no qualms about causing her emotional damage to satisfy himself
According to the High Court judge, who accepted there was no physical violence involved, the man's behaviour was "predatory" and "manipulative".
However, it's the girl, who now suffers from flashbacks and has suicidal thoughts, who was blamed by people on social media after details of the case were reported by local media earlier this year: