Recalcitrant offender back behind bars for molesting teenage granddaughter and other crimes

SINGAPORE - A man who was sentenced to jail and caning in 1999 for offences, including raping his own daughter, is back behind bars after he molested his granddaughter multiple times.

On one occasion, he also asked the girl's younger sister for sex, but was told off. The girls were then 16 and 15 years old.

The man cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girls' identities.

The 65-year-old Singaporean cleaner was on Wednesday (Aug 25) sentenced to two years and nine months' jail.

He had pleaded guilty to three counts of molestation and one count of exploitative sexual communication with a minor below 18 years old. All four charges involved the older victim.

Five other charges including one count of insulting the younger girl's modesty were considered during sentencing.

In 1999, the man was sentenced to 12 years' jail with 12 strokes of the cane over sexual offences against his then 14-year-old daughter and four of her friends. The four girls were between 13 and 17 years old at the time.

After his release, he targeted his own granddaughters in 2019 and last year.

Court documents do not state if the two girls are the children of his daughter whom he had sexually abused earlier.

In the current case, the 16-year-old victim was at the man's Tampines flat sometime in October 2019 when he molested her while his wife was out at work.

After committing the offence, he told the girl not to tell his wife about what had happened, and the teenager complied out of fear.

Two months later, the girl moved to the man's flat after her mother threw her out following a tiff.

The court heard that she stayed there, as she had nowhere else to go. Her sister also moved in, the court heard.

The older girl was alone at home with the man in December 2019 when he molested her again.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling said: "Sometime in January 2020, the victim could no longer keep this a secret and confided in her aunt of the accused's sexual assaults.

"The victim's aunt informed her mother, who is the accused's wife and the victim's grandmother. Following this, the victim's grandmother reprimanded the accused, who apologised and promised not to sexually assault the victim again."

The man, however, broke his promise on March 12 last year when he molested the teenager yet again after showing her a pornographic video.

She left the flat and a report was lodged two days later.

For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined or caned. The man cannot be caned, as he is over 50 years old.

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