S’porean man, 71, sexually abused daughter, granddaughter, nieces & students over 26 years

Over a period of more than 20 years, a 71-year-old Singaporean man sexually assaulted 11 girls, including his daughter, his granddaughters, and four of his nieces.

He also assaulted four students who attended an enrichment centre he ran with his wife.

All the children were aged five to 10 when he abused them.

The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victims, pleaded guilty on Jul. 24 to 10 charges including rape, sexual assault by penetration, committing obscene acts involving a child, and showing pornography to a minor and outrage of modesty.

23 other charges will be taken into account during sentencing.

The man currently has myelofibrosis, a rare form of blood cancer.

Enrichment centre

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man and his wife operated an enrichment centre from 1997 to 2021.

They had conducted tuition classes for primary school students and other activities at their house prior to opening the enrichment centre.

The man and his family also resided at the centre at one point.

Daughter

From 1997 to 2005, the man’s daughter resided with him, his wife, and his two sons.

His daughter had her own room.

The man began sexually assaulting his daughter sometime in 1997, when she was around six to seven years old.

He would bring his wife and daughter out in his van to run errands.

After dropping off his wife, he would then molest his daughter.

As she was confused by his actions, he told her that he was “sayang-ing” her, a term for showing affection.

His daughter did not think anything was wrong.

This subsequently escalated to the man having oral sex on his daughter.

On many occasions, the man would either enter his daughter’s room when she was sleeping or ask her to come into the master bedroom when his wife was not around.

He would proceed to show her pornography, molest and digitally penetrate her, and have oral sex with her.

He also made her have oral sex on him.

The man would tell his daughter to not tell anyone what he did to her, as the family would split up and it would be her fault that her siblings did not have a family.

As such, his daughter was scared and did not dare to tell anyone what the accused did to her.

Later raped daughter

In 2000, when his daughter was 10 years old, he sexually assaulted her again.

He would eventually rape her when she was 15 years old and he was 50 years old, in 2005.

This caused her vagina to bleed, and she was in a state of shock and pain.

She kept crying and asked the man why he did that to her.

She then kicked him away and ran to the toilet to shower and clean up the blood.

The man apologised to his daughter after witnessing the blood.

Granddaughters

In 2022, his granddaughters would visit him at his residence about twice a week.

The man was staying with his helper and his wife at that time.

Sometime in 2023, the man and his wife stayed temporarily with his granddaughters' family while they waited to move to a new house.

At one point during that period, his older granddaughter, who was seven years old, was sleeping in a room while no one else was at home.

The man entered the room and locked the door while she was resting on the bed.

He then proceeded to show his granddaughter pornography, molest her, engage in oral sex with her, and digitally penetrate her, causing her pain.

Before leaving, the man told her not to tell anybody about what had happened, or else she would not be his favourite grandchild.

She complied with his request.

The man later admitted that he had feelings for his granddaughter and she was “just the right urge” for him.

He also assaulted his other granddaughter, who was five years old, at the residence during the same period.

When she was watching television with the man, he molested her.

The incident came to light on Aug. 4, 2023, when the five-year-old told her mother that the man had touched her vagina.

Her mother then asked the other children if the man had touched them.

The seven-year-old revealed the man’s actions, and her mother subsequently lodged a police report.

He was 68 years old when he assaulted his granddaughters.

Niece

From 1994 to 1996, when his niece was between nine and 12 years old, she would go to the man’s house for tuition.

The girl would also stay over at his house after tuition to play with her cousins, and they would share a room with the man’s children.

The man began sexually assaulting his niece in 1994 when she was around nine to ten years old.

He would molest his niece and engage in oral sex with her.

His niece was shocked by his actions, but did not react as she was unaware that his actions were wrong.

Sometime between 1995 and 1996, he showed her a comic depicting oral sex and requested her to do the same on him.

He ejaculated into her mouth, and his niece did not like the taste of it.

He told her that it was "white cream".

On another occasion, he gave her S$50 when he saw her crying after she performed oral sex on him and told her not to tell anyone what had happened.

His niece felt uncomfortable, and she came up with excuses not to attend tuition.

She eventually stopped going sometime in 1996.

Sometime in 2012, one of her aunts confronted the man over what he had done to her daughter.

After that confrontation, he apologised to his niece for his actions.

Following this, his niece was seen at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), and it was found that she likely had post-traumatic stress disorder with delayed expression, as the symptoms were more pronounced in Secondary Four.

Her symptoms have resolved, and she currently no longer suffers from mental illness.

Students

In 2006 and 2010, the man assaulted two students who attended his enrichment centre.

They were aged six and 10 respectively.

Both students were molested.

Paedophile

The offences only came to light in 2023, after his granddaughter's mother lodged a police report.

But he was imprisoned twice before for sex offences, the court heard.

The prosecution sought 32 to 36 years’ jail for the man.

He cannot be caned as he is above 50 years old.

According to an IMH report, the man has paedophilic disorder with sexual attraction to pre-pubescent girls and is a danger to children.

The prosecutors cited his granddaughter’s psychiatric report and said she “reported experiencing nightmares and asked if the doctor can remove these thoughts about what had happened from her mind”.

They also pointed out that he took advantage of his position as a tutor in the enrichment centre to victimise the children there.

Ill health irrelevant: Prosecution

The prosecution added that the man had continued committing offences around 2022 to 2023, after he was released from prison for earlier offences.

In 2020, he'd been sentenced to jail and caning for different sex offences. The repeated offences suggest recalcitrant behaviour, they argued.

As for the man's ill health, the prosecution acknowledged that he has suffered from blood marrow cancer since 2021.

But they argued the man’s “ill health is irrelevant” to sentencing and would not be applicable as a mitigating factor.

He is also in stable condition, with no "immediate threat of him dying in the near term".

“The accused’s criminal conduct here must be met with the harshest penal consequences," they said.

The case was adjourned to Sep. 7 for sentencing.