S'porean man, 24, sexually assaults younger half-sister & filmed woman showering, gets 17 years' jail & 24 strokes of cane

A 24-year-old Singaporean man has been sentence to 17 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting his younger half-sister and filming a woman in the shower at a university hostel.

The sexual assaults committed against his half-sister only came to light when he confessed to his father about them after his arrest for voyeurism.

According to The Straits Times, the man pleaded guilty to five charges: aggravated rape, aggravated sexual assault by penetration, aggravated outrage of modesty, producing child sexual abuse materials and voyeurism.

Nine other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identities of the victims.

Half-sister was aged eight to nine at time of offences

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man was around 19 to 21 years old at the time of the offences.

His half sister lived in a HDB flat with her father, mother, older brother and helper.

The man stayed with his grandmother.

Sometime in 2022, he started tutoring his younger half-sister, who was around eight to nine years old.

The man began staying over in the half-sister's bedroom, which she shared with her older brother, over the weekends.

Sexually assaulted half-sister on three occasions

Between 2022 and 2023, the man sexually assaulted his half-sister on three occasions.

Sometime in the second half of 2022, his half-sister was about to fall asleep in her bed, while the man was lying down on a mattress in the same bedroom.

After the lights were switched off, the man knelt down beside the victim and touched her private parts.

He also exposed himself to her before going back to sleep.

Sometime between June 2023 and September 2023, the man instructed his half-sister to perform a sex act on him when she playing mobile games in the bedroom.

The half-sister stopped after feeling disgusted.

The man went on to masturbate himself and ejaculate on a piece of tissue in front of her.

On the third occasion, which also took place in 2023, the man and his half-sister were again in the bedroom.

He pulled down her pants and proceeded to penetrate her with his finger.

Apart from the sexual assaults, the man also took photographs of her showering, which he kept on his phone.

Voyeurism at university hostel

The next year on Jan. 22, 2024, the man arrived at a university hostel to spend time with his girlfriend.

Later that evening, he heard noises coming from the common toilet.

At the time, a 23-year-old female university student was taking a shower.

The man went over to the toilet.

He then proceeded to video the female student using his mobile phone.

As he was recording, the female student shouted, prompting the man to stop and delete the recording.

That night, a police report was made about the incident. The man was arrested the next day on Jan. 23.

Comes clean to father about sexual assault

Following his arrest, he confessed to his father about the sexual assaults he committed against his half-sister.

His father called the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline to seek assistance, and the matter was referred to the Ministry of Social and Family Development's Child Protective Services (CPS).

A CPS officer then made a police report on Jan. 26 regarding the assault against the man's half-sister.

Investigators found the photos he took of his half-sister on his phone.

A medical report noted that the half-sister felt scared, sad, and angry since the sexual abuse began in 2022.

She also had recurrent thoughts and nightmares of the abuse, became afraid of males, had difficulty trusting others and had difficulty focusing during classes.

Judge found behaviour not due to youthful folly

The prosecution sought 15 to 17 years of jail and 24 strokes of the cane, according to court submissions.

In relation to his half-sister, the prosecution noted that the man is her half-brother and is 12 years older than her.

"Instead of being her protector and guardian, the accused subjected the said victim to unimaginable suffering in the safety of her home by sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions when she was between eight and nine years old," the prosecution argued.

They added: "Even after the offences against the first victim ceased, the accused continued to reoffend against the second victim, who was his fellow schoolmate."

During the sentencing hearing on Nov. 11, the judge noted that the man committed multiple offences over a period of at least one year, ST reported.

She also noted that the man's criminal behaviour was not a one-off incident due to youthful folly, ST wrote.

The court was told by the man's lawyer that he was pursuing university studies on a scholarship.

The lawyer also pointed that the man had shown great remorse by confessing to his father and pleading guilty.

Following the sentencing, the man was allowed a deferment of his sentence so he can spend time with his grandmother and help her with matters relating to a relative who recently died, according to ST.

He was granted S$120,000 bail and ordered to surrender to the State Courts on Dec. 11.