S'porean man, 40, pleads guilty to sexually assaulting daughter, 22, repeatedly for 3 years, said 'takes two hands to clap' when confronted

A Singapore man, 40, has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his biological daughter, 22, repeatedly over a period of three years.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the defendant was handed 13 charges on Friday, Sep. 12.

The charges included sexual assault, possession of an offensive weapon and violating the Children and Young Persons Act.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual penetration of a minor under 16, and two charges of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor between 16 and 18.

The other nine charges will be taken into consideration when the defendant is sentenced at a later date.

The alleged assaults reportedly took place when the victim was between 13 and 16 years old.

They cannot be identified due to a gag order to protect the victim's identity.

Sexually assaulted the victim repeatedly over three years

Court documents stated that in 2017, the victim's mother had discovered text messages between her daughter and her ex-boyfriend.

The victim was 13 years old back then.

The man questioned the victim regarding the messages, but the conversation reportedly took an inappropriate turn, with the defendant asking the victim to demonstrate on him how she would be intimate with her ex-boyfriend.

Between mid-2017 and September 2020, he touched the victim inappropriately and forced her to perform penetrative sexual acts with him.

The defendant would sneak into the victim's room at night while the family was asleep to carry out the assaults.

At one point, the victim wrote him a letter asking him to stop.

The defendant stopped for a while, but soon resumed the assaults.

The defendant also reportedly pressured the victim into engaging in sexual acts with him by promising to give her extra allowance and giving her permission to go out with her friends.

Continued to assault her even after she got married

Even after the victim got married, court documents revealed the defendant continued to sexually assault her.

It was not specified when the victim was married.

On Aug. 20 2020, after the victim's husband had left for work, the defendant reportedly entered the victim's room and attempted to have sex with her.

In an effort to dissuade him, the victim, who was 16 years old at the time, allegedly offered to perform another sexual act instead, in hopes of putting an end to his behaviour.

Less than two weeks later, on Aug. 31 2020, it was reported that the defendant attempted to open the victim's bedroom door at night but realised that she had locked it.

This made him furious, and he punched and kicked the walls of their house.

The following day, he allegedly attempted to touch her in the kitchen, but she pushed him away.

"It takes two hands to clap"

Upset that the victim had resisted his advances, the defendant threatened to tell the victim's husband about their relationship, court documents revealed.

The victim eventually confided in her mother about the defendant's behaviour.

However, when confronted by his wife, the defendant reportedly lashed out, saying, "it takes two hands to clap," implying that he considered the victim equally responsible for their relationship.

Victim's husband reported the case to the police

The victim later told her husband that she had been sexually assaulted by her father and he immediately reported the matter to the police.

The defendant surrendered himself to the police and was arrested on the same day.

In 2021, the defendant was handed 14 charges, including one count of sexual assault and one count of aggravated assault.

The prosecution had offered him a plea deal, which he initially accepted, but later changed his mind and chose to go to trial.

The sexual assault charges were subsequently amended to charges of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor, while one charge of outrage of modesty was dropped.

Prosecution said defendant showed no remorse

The prosecution said the defendant showed no remorse for his actions, stating that he even said "it takes two hands to clap" when confronted by his wife.

Medical professionals observed that the defendant appeared to prioritise his own sexual needs and discounted their impact on the victim, and made excuses for his behaviour.

The prosecution added that the alleged assaults left the victim feeling angry and betrayed.

She reportedly had the urge to self-harm on several occasions times, but decided against it with her husband's support.

In a letter to the defendant, the victim reportedly wrote:

"You've torn my heart into millions of pieces... It really hurts knowing that you don't actually care nor truly [love] me. It really hurts. You always lie saying that you will stop but you don't. Don't you think I have feelings too? I never want my daughter to ever feel this torture."

The prosecution argued that, as the victim's biological father, the defendant failed in his duty to protect and look after his daughter, and instead sexually exploited her.

As such, they requested that the judge impose a sentence of at least 18 to 19-and-a-half years' imprisonment, and 16 strokes of the cane.

Victim thought her parents were her siblings

According to court documents, the defendant's wife became pregnant with the victim before the couple was married.

The victim was born in 2003, while the defendant and his wife only got married in 2009. The couple later had two sons.

The victim was later raised by her grandmother, who had pretended to be her mother.

The defendant and his wife also reportedly pretended to be the victim's brother and sister.

It was not until the victim saw her birth certificate by accident in primary school that she learnt the truth.

Despite this, she eventually grew very close to the defendant and confided in him.

The defendant's wife reportedly filed for divorce from him following the revelations arising from this case.

Top photos via Canva, Mothership