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The man's mother-in-law witnessed several of these incidents and would call the victim away.
the accused and victim physically living in the same household
SINGAPORE: After his wife became reluctant to engage in sex with him, a man turned to his young biological daughter for his sexual urges, the court heard.
The 32-year-old man molested his daughter, then between 10 and 11 years old, over the course of eight months, at times under the pretext of waking her up for school.
The man was sentenced to four years and nine months' jail and eight strokes of the cane on Friday (Apr 17) after pleading guilty to four charges of aggravated molest.
He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting his daughter's identity.
Another 13 similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The offences came to light after the victim attended a classroom discussion on personal safety and inappropriate touching on Aug 7, 2025. She then reported her father to the school counsellor.
The man was arrested on Aug 8, 2025.
When interviewed, he admitted to the acts, claiming that he did so because his wife had "been unwilling to engage in sexual intercourse with him, and he had therefore turned to his daughter as an outlet for his sexual urges," court documents read.
Between January and August 2025, the man typically woke his daughter and her siblings for school each morning.
He would usually nudge his children on the shoulders, but would molest his daughter, stopping only when she woke up.
He molested his daughter in this manner almost every weekday between January and August, except for the month of June when the daughter slept in during school holidays.
In the same period, the man would have his daughter sit on his lap and molest her daily.
The man's mother-in-law witnessed several of these incidents and would call the victim away.
She also advised the accused to stop as the victim had grown up.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Wong urged the court to sentence the accused to between five years seven months and six years four months' jail.
He also sought 12 strokes of the cane.
"In our view, it is difficult to overstate the extent to which the close relationship between the accused and the victim was central to the accused’s commission of the offences.
"Not only were the accused and victim physically living in the same household, the accused repeatedly molested the victim in the course and under the guise of performing actions which would ordinarily be expected of a loving father," said Mr Wong.
The prosecutor also noted that the man’s actions formed part of a sustained pattern of offending.
"Here, what these circumstances show is that, far from having acted on impulse in an isolated moment of weakness,the accused must have been cognisant of what he was doing and would have had multiple opportunities to stop himself," Mr Wong said.
The accused's lawyer, Mr Bryan Lim from Hoh Law Corporation, sought between 46 and 50-and-a-half months' jail and three strokes of the cane for his client.
The lawyer said the accused was "extremely remorseful" over his actions, fully accepting they were "wrong and unacceptable".
As evidence, the lawyer pointed to how his client admitted to the offences in his first statement and indicated early on that he intended to plead guilty.
"He does love his family and children, including the victim, and accepts that he caused hurt to her," he added.
The accused's wife is in the midst of divorcing him, with judgment expected next month.
"Ever since investigations have commenced, he has fully accepted that it would be uncomfortable and not appropriate to stay with his wife and children, and thus moved out," the lawyer said.
"His main focus in life is to repair his relationship and to make amends, he does hope his family will forgive."
Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng considered the non-fleeting nature of the acts and the victim’s young age as aggravating factors.
The victim had been living in the same household under her father’s care and authority, but he had “clearly exploited his position” to gain access to her bedroom, the judge added.
For molesting a person under 14, an offender can be jailed up to five years, and/or caned, and/or fined.
If the offence is against a victim in a close relationship, an offender can face twice the maximum penalty.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/man-molest-daughter-jailed-caned-state-courts-6070266