Man molested own niece, two other young girls and filmed acts on video

SINGAPORE - A man molested three young girls, including his own niece, and recorded some of the acts on video.

The court heard that on one occasion, the man committed the offence while his seven-year-old son was in the same room.

On Thursday (Oct 18), Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai urged District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam to sentence the father of two boys to eight years' jail with 24 strokes of the cane.

The 45-year-old man, a former Nanyang Technological University research associate, is a paedophile with a high risk of reoffending, the DPP added.

The accused, now jobless, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his victims' identities. He pleaded guilty on Monday to six counts of molestation.

Fifteen other molestation charges as well as one count each of being in possession of obscene and uncensored films will be taken into consideration during sentencing.

Describing the man's modus operandi, DPP Lai said he distracted his victims by using games on his mobile devices or asking them to draw.

Some time between August 2014 and 2016, the man's niece, who was about nine years old, went to the condominium where he lived with his parents.

He took the girl to his bedroom where he gave her a pen and paper to draw. He then molested her girl and recorded the incident without her knowledge.

On another occasion, he outraged her modesty while she was playing a game on his mobile phone. He also recorded the act.

The second victim, who was about eight years old, was similarly distracted and molested at the man's home. He recorded a video of what took place.

DPP Lai told the court that the man had refused to provide any information about the girl's identity.

The third victim is the daughter of the man's neighbour, the court was told.

On Jan 1 last year, the girl, who was about four years old at the time, was watching his seven-year-old son playing a game on an electronic tablet. The man molested her while the two children were engrossed in the game

The offences came to light when the little girl told her mother the man had touched her private parts and she felt pain while urinating.

Her parents took her to KK Women's and Children's Hospital later that day and the hospital's staff reported to the police. The man was arrested the next day.

He is out on bail of $20,000 and will be sentenced on Nov 20.

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