First of four brothers to sexually abuse younger sister gets 18 years’ jail, 24 strokes

SINGAPORE - A 22-year-old man, who was the first of four brothers to sexually assault their younger sister, said he preferred to abuse her instead of having sex with a girlfriend due to his “experience of being heartbroken”.

On May 21, a High Court judge sentenced him to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane, which was higher than the sentence of 16 years’ jail and 24 strokes sought by both the prosecution and the defence.

Justice Mavis Chionh said the sentence sought was insufficient to reflect the overall criminality of the man’s conduct and was not in line with the sentences meted out in various past cases.

The girl, who is now 14, was

sexually assaulted by all four of her older brothers from 2018 to February 2022

, when she was between eight and 12 years old.

The perpetrator in the current case, her second-eldest brother, was the first to begin abusing her.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of aggravated rape, with another 16 charges of serious sexual offences taken into consideration during sentencing.

He was 16 to 20 years old when he committed these offences.

His sentencing came a day after the 23-year-old eldest brother

was handed 20 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane

.

The eldest had pleaded guilty to eight charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration, with another 34 charges over serious sexual offences taken into consideration.

Justice Chionh noted that the eldest brother faced more charges.

But the judge highlighted that, unlike his older sibling, the bulk of the offences committed by the perpetrator in the current case involved actual consummation of rape.

The judge also considered that the victim suffered symptoms of trauma and has found herself separated from her two younger sisters and parents.

Deputy Public Prosecutor M. Kayal Pillay told the court that the offender in the current case admitted to sexually assaulting the victim on more than 10 occasions and often preyed on her when she was asleep.

Whenever the victim woke up while he was assaulting her, he would tell her to keep still.

The girl and her two younger sisters shared a room, while the brothers took another room at the family home.

Over the years, the victim suffered in silence and pretended to be happy “by putting on a fake smile” even though she felt stressed and sad, said the prosecutor.

The prosecutor said the perpetrator had deliberately chosen to abuse the victim, as opposed to his two other younger sisters, and would have continued to assault her if the matter had not been reported to the authorities.

On Feb 10, 2022, the victim found the courage to tell the authorities in her school about being abused. A police report was lodged and the brothers were arrested.

On May 21, the man’s lawyer, Ms Stephania Wong, submitted a letter he had written to apologise to his family and his sister.

In the letter, he said he knew he had ruined his sister’s life and traumatised her when he was supposed to take good care of her.

In sentencing, Justice Chionh said she hoped he would “persevere in his avowed desire to rehabilitate himself”.

She added that a psychological report from the Ministry of Social and Family Development stating that the victim had shown improvement in her trauma symptoms was a testament to her fortitude.

The judge said she hoped the victim’s family members can rally around her to provide support, love and encouragement.

The two other brothers have pleaded guilty to their respective charges and are awaiting the outcome of reports to assess if they are suitable for reformative training.

The youngest, who is now 18, sexually assaulted and raped the victim when he was 13 to 16 years old.

The second youngest, who is now 20, sexually assaulted the victim when he was 16 to 17.