She was only 10 when her biological father inflicted the "gravest form of sexual abuse" on her - sodomising her, while the Primary 4 girl was still in her school uniform.

When he molested her later that same month, in October 2005, she asked him if all fathers did such acts on their daughters.

The question shocked the man, but it did not stop him, as he continued his sexual abuse that month.

Nine years later, when she was 19, he started molesting her again. After having suffered in silence over the years, she worked up the courage to report him to the police.

Yesterday, the 51-year-old technician was jailed 12 1/2 years by the High Court after he pleaded guilty to one charge of sodomy and two charges of molestation. Four other charges - of molestation and sexual exploitation of a child - were taken into consideration. He cannot be caned as he is more than 50 years old, and cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, now 21.

According to his mitigation plea submitted by lawyer Gino Hardial Singh, his wife ran away from home in October 2005 but later returned.

One afternoon that month, the man sodomised his daughter in the master bedroom after taking her home from school. The girl's two brothers were still in school.

As her father abused her, the victim tried to hold back her tears out of fear that he would scold her. When she burst out crying, he stopped.

On another day, he again told her to go to the bedroom where he did a sexual act on her. Despite feeling "regrettable" after she asked if all fathers did such acts, he went on to molest her one more time and made her perform an indecent act twice.

In 2014, when she was 19, he molested her once in July and once in October, after which she left the flat and made a police report. Seeking 12 to 14 years' jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Agnes Chan argued that the man had "callously inflicted the gravest form of sexual abuse" on his child the first time he violated her.

In a statement to the court about the impact of the abuse, the victim said she lived in constant fear of being molested and once tried to kill herself. "I could not love him and would never love him because of what he did to me when I was younger," she said. "I was innocent but my father breached my innocence by exposing me to adult sexual behaviour and he used his authority on me. I was never willing."

The Straits Times understands that she is now living with her fiance and his family.