S'pore girl, then-16, repeatedly raped by stepfather, 43, tells family but they don't believe her

A 43-year-old Singaporean man, who repeatedly raped his stepdaughter from when she was 16, was sentenced to 22 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Sep. 1.

According to a report by CNA, the man, who cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim's identity, pleaded guilty to four charges of rape.

Nine other similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He raped the teenager in the back of his delivery van and at their one-room flat, while his wife and six other children were asleep.

When the abuse came to light, the victim’s mother and siblings did not believe her, and she was subsequently placed in a welfare home.

Raped the victim in delivery van

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that the man lived in a one-room flat with his 42-year-old wife and their children.

His wife had seven children – four from her first marriage, including the victim, who is her eldest child, and three with the offender.

The couple married in 2015, when the victim was nine years old.

The family slept together in the same room. The victim’s mother and two of her siblings slept on a bed, while the victim and three other siblings slept on separate mattresses on the floor.

The offender slept on another mattress in a corner of the room.

He had also installed two CCTV cameras in the flat, which he allegedly used to monitor the children.

He had sole access to the footage through his mobile phone.

In June 2023, when the victim was 16, the man began sending her lewd text messages.

He would also confiscate her phone when she refused to engage in sexual acts with him.

That same month, the victim accompanied the man, who worked as a delivery driver, on his rounds.

While they were at a car park in Tampines, she was sorting parcels at the back of his van when he locked the doors and switched off the lights.

He then climbed to the back of the van and raped her, despite her pleas for him to stop.

He returned her phone to her afterwards.

Between July and December 2023, he raped her at least five more times in the van.

Told the victim to eat pineapples after she missed her period

The man also raped the teenager at their flat while the rest of the family was asleep.

The victim would comply as he threatened to confiscate her phone.

One time, she cried silently and covered her face with a soft toy during the assault.

The man raped his stepdaughter at least 12 times between June 2023 and February 2024, occurring at least once or twice a month.

On one occasion, when the teenager missed her period, he told her to eat pineapples to prevent a pregnancy or induce a miscarriage.

He regularly demanded sexual acts through text messages.

He had configured some of the messages to be automatically deleted after they were read, or would remotely delete them through cloud access to the victim’s phone.

However, the victim managed to take a screenshot in February 2024.

She felt helpless throughout the nine-month ordeal and was unable to physically stop her stepfather as he was stronger than her.

She also did not confide in her mother as she feared that her mother would not believe her.

Stepfather laughed it off when confronted

After the last rape on Feb. 13, 2024, the victim decided that she could no longer endure the abuse.

She confided in her boyfriend, who advised her to tell her mother.

The teenager then showed her mother the screenshot of the messages from her stepfather.

When confronted by his wife, the man laughed and denied the allegations.

Instead, he suggested that it was the victim who was the one who had sent him lewd messages.

The victim subsequently told her school teacher, who referred her to a school counsellor.

The counsellor reported the matter and a police report was lodged.

Police later seized the man’s phones, which contained recordings and screenshots from the CCTV cameras he had installed in the flat showing him sexually abusing the victim.

The man was placed in a drug rehabilitation centre from March 2024 to September 2025 for drug consumption.

He was then transferred to Changi Prison and has since been remanded for the rape offences.

Victim pressured to drop the case and placed in welfare home

The prosecution sought 21 to 23 years' jail for the man and 24 strokes of the cane, describing the man's sustained abuse as having fractured the family unit.

Instead of receiving the support she needed, the victim was pressured by her mother to drop the case and was removed from the family's home and placed in a welfare home, it said.

The prosecution added that the victim’s hurt and isolation were compounded when her mother asked her to withdraw the case.

It also said the offender had exploited his position as her stepfather and damaged the family unit.

The prosecution noted that the victim had been robbed of her sense of safety and bodily autonomy, as well as the security of her home.

The man had also sent the teenager messages that desensitised her to the nature of his acts, and isolated her by getting her to accompany him on his delivery rounds.

He also manipulated her by repeatedly threatening to confiscate her phone, knowing that the threat would work against her.

According to CNA, the defence argued that the man had shown no lack of remorse and had consistently maintained that he wanted to plead guilty.

His lawyer also added that the offender wished to finish serving his sentence and reunite with his children.

In sentencing, the judge noted the offender’s abuse of his position and breach of trust as the victim’s stepfather.

The victim had also hesitated to report the offences because she was concerned about her younger siblings and how doing so would affect her relationship with her stepfather, the judge added.

For each count of rape, the man could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.