A 50-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 23 years' jail for raping his daughter when she was 11 years old.

The man, who cannot be named due a gag order protecting the victim's identity, pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated statutory rape and aggravated sexual assault by penetration, according to CNA.

Seven other charges, which include molest and possessing obscene films, were taken into consideration in his sentencing.

The case

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the offences were committed in 2018. The man worked as a store assistant at the time.

He stayed in a four bedroom flat with his wife, his brother, the victim and the victim's older sister.

No fixed sleeping arrangement

The victim, her older sister, and her parents did not have a fixed sleeping arrangement for their two bedrooms — the master bedroom and the victim's bedroom.

The victim or her sister would sleep with either their father or mother in either of the two bedrooms. Sometimes, the four of them would sleep together in the master bedroom.

Often, the victim would sleep with her mother in the master bedroom. The man's older brother mostly kept to himself and stayed in his room.

Developed sexual desires for his daughter

Court documents stated that in October 2018, the man started "developing sexual desires" towards the victim. Sometime between October and December 2018, when he was sleeping in the master bedroom with the victim, he sexually exploited her.

He stopped shortly after and told the victim: "Don’t tell anyone."

After this incident, the victim would avoid sleeping only with the man, and would sleep with either her mother or her sister.

However, the man would then find opportunities to sexually exploit the victim during the day, when the victim's mother and sister were not at home.

Raped her when her mother and sister weren't t home

On one occasion, when the victim's mother and sister were out, the man went into the master bedroom where the victim was watching YouTube videos.

He closed the door and told her to take off her clothes. According to court documents, the victim felt awkward as her mother had told her not to be naked in front of others, but she complied.

The victim did not move because she was afraid that the man would scold her if she did. He subsequently raped her.

Told him to stop, but he didn't

The victim told the man that she was in pain, and told him to stop at least twice. She also tried to get away to get him to stop.

But the man told the victim to return to the same position, and she complied as she was afraid of what he might do if she did not obey.

The man continued to sexually assault the victim, and only stopped shortly before the victim’s mother and sister returned home.

He subsequently told the victim not to tell anyone what had happened.

The man sexually assaulted his daughter again sometime between October and December 2018.

Did not inform her mother and sister as she did not want her parents to get divorced

The victim did not inform her mother and sister of the incidents as she did not want her parents to fight or get a divorce.

She was also afraid that her mother would scold her and blame her, as her mother had told her that she should not let anyone touch her.

Court documents stated that the victim felt sad and constantly did not know what to do as she could not inform her mother about the situation.

Told her teacher after being questioned about her behaviour

The matter only came to light in August 2019 when the victim was hauled up in school for errant behaviour.

When questioned by her form teacher about her behaviour, the victim broke down and revealed that her father had "touched" her.

The school counsellor and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) were subsequently alerted.

MSF officers visited the school and brought the victim to make a police report on the next day.

According to court documents, the victim had repetitive thoughts of the acts during her PSLE and would tear up when she talked about them.

The man was not of unsound mind

The man was later assessed by a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

He was found to have no mental illness, and was not of unsound mind at the time of the offence.

He was also not under the influence of any substance when he committed the act.  He did not have any depressive, manic or psychotic symptoms.

Claimed a feng shui master told him to have sex with a virgin

The man admitted to sexually abusing his daughter to the IMH psychiatrist.

He said that sometime in September 2018, he was advised by a feng shui master in Malaysia to have sexual intercourse with a virgin by the end of 2018, as this would be the only way for him to prevent a life-threatening mishap in 2019.

The feng shui master offered him a service to avoid such a mishap, but the man did not take it up as it would cost him RM 2,000 (S$648). He then planned to have sex with the victim.

Court documents stated that he could not explain why he chose the victim, but admitted that he was sexually aroused by her.

Prosecution asked for 23 years' jail

The prosecution argued that there was planning and premeditation involved in the man's offences.

There was also a breach of trust and an abuse of position as the man was the victim's biological father.

The prosecution thus sought for at least 23 years' jail for the man, which includes jail time in lieu of caning. The man cannot be caned as he is 50 years old now.

According to CNA, the man's lawyer asked for not more than 19 years' jail instead, arguing that the man was "deeply remorseful" of his actions.

His lawyer added that he was "deeply disturbed" by the feng shui master's predictions, which plagued him for months after.

Top image via Pixabay.