Two of the four brothers accused of sexually abusing their sister from sometime in 2018 to February 2022 have been sentenced.

Oldest and second-oldest brothers sentenced

The oldest brother and eldest in the family of seven, who is now 23 years old, is the first to be sentenced, although he was the third to be convicted.

He had the highest number of charges and was convicted on eight charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. Another 34 charges related to various sexual offences were taken into consideration.

He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane on May 20, 2024.

The second-oldest brother, now 22, was the first out of the four brothers to sexually abuse their sister in 2018.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of aggravated rape. Another 16 charges of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual assault were taken into consideration for sentencing.

He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 24 strokes of the cane on May 21, according to CNA.

The two remaining brothers have been convicted and are currently awaiting the outcome of reports to determine if they are suitable for reformative training, according to The Straits Times.

Neither the victim nor her brothers can be named due to a gag order to protect the victim's identity.

Abuse ran from 2018 to February 2022

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim was aged eight when the abuse first started.

All four brothers shared one room, while the victim shared another room with her two younger sisters. Their parents slept in the master bedroom.

The children's parents told the brothers that were not allowed to enter the girls' room unless it was to comb their hair as the boys' room did not have a mirror.

2018 to 2022: Second-oldest brother's abuse

The second-oldest brother was between the age of 16 and 20 from the time he began sexually abusing his sister in 2018 to the time of his last assault in February 2022, just one before he was arrested.

He deliberately chose to sexually abuse the victim over his two younger sisters.

He also sexually abused her rather than satisfy his urges with a girlfriend due to his past experience of being "heartbroken".

The man sexually abused his sister in all three bedrooms and on some occasions, did so while the two other sisters were asleep beside her.

The victim physically resisted the second-oldest brother's advances, and he knew that she did not consent to the sexual activity.

2019 to 2022: Oldest brother's abuse

The oldest brother was 18 when he started sexually abusing his sister, who was then aged nine, in 2019.

At that point, he was already aware that the second-oldest brother had sexually abused her on at least one occasion but decided not to do anything about it.

Most of his sexual assaults took place in 2019. He was in a relationship in 2020 and 2021 but broke up with his girlfriend and resumed sexually abusing his sister in 2022 when he was 21 and she was 12.

On some occasions, he would enter the girls' room to sexually assault the victim even when his other sisters were sleeping in the same room.

He knew that the victim was unwilling but continued to assault her as she "was still a kid who [did not] know anything".

The victim regarded the oldest brother as "very strict" and was scared of him as he was the eldest brother and the head of the family when their parents were not around.

As the eldest, he took on the responsibility to look after his siblings and would scold them for failing to do their household chores.

During the sexual assaults, the victim did not dare to tell anyone what her eldest brother had done due to his status in the family and felt "hopeless" whenever he assaulted her.

Found the courage to report her brothers on Feb. 10, 2022

On Feb. 10, 2022, the victim finally found the courage to inform her school of the sexual abuse by her brothers.

The school then alerted the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), which resulted in a police report being filed.

Her oldest brother was arrested on the same day.

Initially, he only admitted to one incident when confronted by the police about the allegations, and claimed that it was consensual.

This was revealed to be untrue in subsequent investigations and he admitted to sexually assaulting his sister on other occasions after being confronted with further evidence.

As for the victim, she felt anxious and guilty after reporting her brothers. She also blamed herself for not stopping her brothers when they sexually assaulted her.

She was referred for therapy.

What was said in court before the brothers were sentenced

In their sentencing submissions, the prosecution called for 24 years' imprisonment with 24 strokes of the cane for the oldest brother.

Oldest brother's sentence

The prosecutor argued that the victim continues to suffer long-lasting emotional and psychological harm, adding that the oldest brother showed premeditation and planning during his assaults.

The oldest brother's defence lawyers argued otherwise, saying he showed opportunism and at most, "rudimentary planning".

Seeking 20 years' imprisonment with 24 strokes of the cane, the defence said the oldest brother was remorseful, "He knows that as the oldest brother in the family [...] he's let everybody down and he knows that he will face serious consequences."

The defence added that the oldest brother has written two letters of apology, which were submitted to court.

Noting that a 24-year imprisonment was longer than his lifespan thus far, the defence argued that the prosecution's proposed imprisonment would be crushing.

The judge agreed with the defence that the oldest brother showed opportunistic and predatory behaviour rather than premeditation or planning.

She also agreed with the defence that 24-year imprisonment would be "crushing" for the oldest brother, due to his age, lack of a criminal record and his future prospects.

However, she noted that the victim suffered considerable harm, adding that the oldest brother's offences were aggravated as he abused the trust placed in him as the head of the family.

She added that the oldest brother not only failed to protect the victim, after he knew the second-oldest brother had been sexually abusing her, but chose prey on her to satisfy his sexual urges.

He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane.

Second-oldest brother's sentence

Both the prosecution and the defence sought 16 years jail and 24 strokes of the cane for the second-oldest brother.

However, the judge decided to sentence him to 20 years jail and 24 strokes of the cane as she found the prosecution and defence's proposed imprisonment to not be commensurate with his crime.

Like the case of the oldest brother, the judge noted the severe harm the victim suffered and said the second-oldest brother had abused the trust and responsibility placed in him as the victim's older brother.

Unlike the oldest brother, however, the judge said the bulk of the second-oldest brother's offences involved "actual consummation" of rape, even though he had fewer charges.

She also highlighted that the second-oldest brother had "sexually terrorised" the victim for an extended period of five years.

She said the second-oldest brother will still be quite young when his sentence is completed, and expressed hope he would rehabilitate himself as he had said he wanted to.

Judge encouraged victim to take courage and forge ahead

The judge, who had encouraged the victim during the oldest brother's sentencing on May 20, reiterated her call for the victim to take courage and forge ahead during the second-oldest brother's sentencing on May 21.

She noted that the victim had not seen her younger sisters, whom she was close to, for at least a year, and had barely spoken to her parents, stressing that this was "through no fault of her own".

She expressed hope that the girl's family would rally around to show her love, support and encouragement.

Top photo by Sam Moghadam Khamseh via Unsplash