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Rapists above 50 should not be spared from judicial caning on account of their age, wrote president Halimah Yacob in a Facebook post on Nov. 19.

"It’s timely that we review this law," she added, noting that some rapes were committed earlier, but reported only after the perpetrator reached 50 years old.

"Highly disturbing and sickening"

The post was written in the light of a recent spate of cases involving children raped in their own homes by male relatives, the president said.

She stressed the importance of severe punishment for such "highly disturbing and sickening" cases, but noted that punishments are by themselves insufficient.

"We need to look at other ways to help our children and stop them from falling prey to such rapists," she wrote, adding:

"I worry that there could be many more unreported cases...I can’t even begin to imagine how much pain and damage these young victims had to suffer."

Time for a review of the law

In response, the president called for organisations dealing with domestic violence and relevant government agencies to "look at ways to better protect our children from sexual abuses in the home".

She also called for the removal of the exemption on caning for offenders aged 50 years and above.

Currently, offenders aged 50 years and above cannot be sentenced to caning, and may instead receive an additional term of up to 12 months' imprisonment.

"It’s ironic that they could escape from the pain caused by caning despite the lifetime of severe trauma and irreparable damage that they cruelly inflicted on their victims which will last a lifetime," she wrote.

"It’s our duty to protect our young and we must not fail them," she added.

Called for more protection against paedophiles

This is not the first time the president has spoken out against the sexual assault of minors.

Last September, she called for more to be done "beyond the law" to protect young girls from sexual predators, particularly those within the household.

"While the convicted paedophile walks out free after serving his term, and if he’s 50 years old he is not even caned, the young child is trapped for a long time in pain and agony," she wrote.

"We can do more to protect our children from sexual predators," she said.

Top image from Halimah Yacob/FB.