Man who sexually assaulted daughter gets 12 years’ jail

SINGAPORE – One afternoon, a man tried to rape his daughter in his bedroom while other family members were watching TV in the living room.

The girl, who was then between six and nine years old, told her grandmother about the assault at the time.

But the crime was reported to the police at least six years later, after the girl disclosed the abuse to a teacher and counsellor at her school.

On April 20, the man, who is now 57 years old, was sentenced to 12 years’ jail after he pleaded guilty in the High Court to a charge of sexual assault by penetration.

Two other charges – one of attempted rape and one of procuring the commission of indecent acts by a child – were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The offences took place between 2015 and 2018.

At the time, the man lived in a flat with his wife, his mother, his mother-in-law, his elder son and the victim.

The court was told that one afternoon, the man was sitting on his bed alone when the victim entered the master bedroom to give him a cup of water.

He beckoned her to come closer, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

The man put her down on the bed and tried to rape her but was unsuccessful. He then carried out another sex act on her.

At that moment, one of the victim’s grandmothers shouted for her, and the man let her out after telling her to put on her shorts.

The court was told that on many occasions before this incident, the man would ask the victim to sit on his lap and kiss him on the lips.

A day or two after the attempted rape, the victim complained to her paternal grandmother about discomfort while she was relieving herself, adding that it was caused by her father.

Confronted by his mother, mother-in-law and wife, the man admitted to touching the victim’s genitalia. The women scolded him and warned him that they would report him to the police if he did it again.

On Oct 18, 2024, the victim sent a text message to the teacher in charge of her co-curricular activity (CCA) seeking advice as she was “still stressed about her family problems”.

When the teacher and school counsellor met her an hour later, she told them she had suicidal thoughts because of her family problems, and because of the stress caused by her maths results and CCA commitments.

She told them she felt that she was a burden to her parents, and she was upset that her parents had focused their attention on her elder brother, who has autism.

When asked about her relationship with her family members, she cried as she revealed that she was not close to her father because he had raped her.

She said she was an unwilling party and had complied with his instructions. She said she did not know what he had done until she attended sexuality education classes in Primary 5 or Primary 6.

The girl said she felt that her father was wrong to rape her, but she did not tell anyone as she did not want him to go to jail.

However, she said she now wanted to move on with her life.

The matter was raised to the school principal and vice-principal.

On the same day, the vice-principal made a police report and the man was arrested.

The prosecution said the victim experienced flashbacks of the sexual assault and continues to feel disgusted by the man’s actions.

According to police figures released to The Straits Times on March 29, the number of sexual assault cases allegedly committed by family members or relatives involving victims below 16 increased from 184 cases in 2024 to 192 cases in 2025. There were 169 such cases in 2023.