SINGAPORE - A teen sexually abused his younger sister as he had a poor relationship with his parents and begrudged them for leaving him in the care of his grandparents while they went overseas to study.
The 18-year-old Singapore permanent resident committed four offences between 2011 and 2013.
He was sentenced to reformative training on Thursday (Dec 3) after admitting to one charge of sexual penetration of a minor without her consent in September 2013. He was 16 at the time and she, 10.
The court heard that the Malaysia-born teen was brought up by his grandparents here till the age of seven. His parents had gone overseas to study and the victim was born in 2002 while they were away.
After the accused had performed an indecent act on his sister and made her perform oral sex on him between 2011 and 2012, their parents had tried to keep them apart as much as possible, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gabriel Choong Hefeng.
On Sept 26, 2013, the victim was ill and watching television at home when the accused returned home and sat next to her on the sofa. He apologised to her for having torn a box belonging to the victim, who did not say anything in reply.
He then lifted her T-shirt and molested her. He put his hand into her panties and committed the offence, causing her pain . He did it for one to two minutes before he removed his fingers after she repeatedly told him to stop.
After the incident, he told her not to tell anyone about what he had done to her. The incident came to light on Oct 1 that year when a school counsellor asked her about her home environment.
"The accused had committed the offence both out of sexual curiosity and out of vengeance against his family. The accused has a poor relationship with his parents, and begrudges them for leaving him in the care of his grandparents while they went to the United States to study," said DPP Choong.
Although the accused was found suitable for both probation and reformative training, the prosecution had objected to probation on the ground that there is a need for deterrence and retribution .
District Judge Mathew Joseph said this was a troubling case; the accused had abused his position of trust; and he has to live with the vile acts committed.
He said the accused had a poor relationship with his parents and wanted to exact vengeance, but "two wrongs don't make a right''.
Judge Joseph noted the victim was an innocent nine-year-old at the time of the first offence. "You destroyed her innocence,'' he told him. He said the teen did not stop but continued to exploit her and became her tormentor,
The accused, who is studying in a polytechnic, was allowed to defer sentence until Dec 21 as he has examinations coming.
