S'porean man, 73, raped underage daughter after watching porn in front of her, jailed 13.5 years

A 73-year-old man in Singapore raped his underage daughter after watching pornography in her presence sometime between 2021 and 2022.

He silenced her by telling her he would go to jail and she would not be able to see him anymore.

The sexual abuse continued for years, from when the girl was 10 until she was 13.

In 2024, the girl finally told a friend and the man was arrested after the Child Protection System was alerted.

The man was sentenced to 13.5 years in jail on Oct. 19, according to CNA. He cannot be caned as he is above the age of 50.

He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 15.

He pleaded guilty to four charges, including aggravated statutory rape, aggravated molestation and sexual exploitation of a child.

Six other charges were taken into consideration for the sentencing.

What happened

The victim lived in a flat with her father.

He was married at the time of the offences to the victim's mother, his lawyer, Joseph Yoong of Dominion LLC, confirmed with Mothership.

Sometime between 2021 and 2022, when the girl was in primary school, the man watched pornography on TV while she was in the same room.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim was lying on a mattress, and he approached her to make her perform a sex act on him.

He then committed rape against the victim and later told her not to tell anyone about what happened.

The man said that he would be imprisoned and she would never be able to see him again if she did so.

Worried, the victim complied.

The sexual abuse happened again in 2023, in which he molested and performed oral sex on her.

While he did so, she remained immobile as she was fearful.

He continued to sexually assault her between May and October 2024, and between July 2024 and August 2024.

While she was disgusted by his acts, she did not react as she was afraid of being scolded by him, court documents stated.

Victim told friend

In October 2024, the victim told a friend that her father had been sexually assaulting her since 2021.

She said she wanted to kill herself, according to court documents.

The friend told a teacher, and the matter was referred to the Child Protection System.

A police report was lodged, and the man was arrested the next day.

According to the man's lawyer, he was a taxi driver who often returned home late.

He is still married to his wife, who is now a Singapore permanent resident, CNA reported.

The prosecution had asked for a sentence of 14.5 to 16 years’ imprisonment, calling the man's act a "gross abuse of trust, authority and influence".

"Over a span of about three to four years, the accused betrayed the victim’s trust in him and robbed her of her innocence in their home, which should have been a safe place for the victim," the prosecutor said.