Taking his 11-year-old granddaughter to a staircase landing, a 65-year-old man forced her to carry out an oral sex act on him.
Pleading guilty to a charge of rape for the incident on 10 July, he has received a jail sentence of 12 years, which includes six months in lieu of caning.
This is because men above the age of 50 cannot be caned.
At the time of sentencing, the Supreme Court took eight other charges into consideration.
This included a second count of rape as well as charges for molesting the victim, exposing himself to her, and showing her a pornographic image on his phone.
The Straits Times (ST) reports that the victim would visit her grandfather and her step-grandmother at their flat on Sundays, along with her mother, stepfather and step-siblings.
On 10 July 2020, the victim, her grandfather, and seven other family members took to a shopping mall to celebrate her step-grandmother’s birthday.
Afterwards, they returned to the flat and the step-grandmother told the victim to accompany her grandfather on a trip to purchase durians from a nearby stall. She agreed.
While the pair were heading back, he took her to a staircase landing one flight of stairs above the ground floor. He then kissed her, causing her to turn away.
The man proceeded to pull her jeans down and molest her, causing her to feel “disgusted and nauseated”, according to Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lee Da Zhuan.
She put her pants on and wanted to leave the scene, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back before forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
After his assault, the man led her back to the ground floor.
ST reports that it was not his first offence against her. He started molesting her when she was 10, committing numerous sexual offences for over one and a half years.
DPP Lee added that the victim was unable to completely comprehend the nature of the man’s actions, TODAY reports.
It was only after learning about “good touch” and “bad touch” in Primary 6 sex education class that she realised the severity of his assaults.
Though furious about the offences, she still could not confess them to a trusted adult.
“She was very close to her grandfather when she was younger, but now does not like him because of the sexual offences he committed against her,” DPP Lee said.
On 25 Jan 2021, the girl was referred to a school counsellor after a disagreement with her mother, during which she admitted to being sexually assaulted by her grandfather.
The counsellor subsequently contacted the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
A day after, child protection officers accompanied the girl to file a police report and authorities placed him under arrest.
DPP Michelle Tay said on 10 July that the man’s offences had caused the girl severe emotional and psychological harm.
In a victim impact statement, she revealed that she had nightmares about her grandfather’s offences. She had additionally attempted self-harm, and went to counselling for suicidal thoughts.
While she said she was getting better, she noted that she still suffered flashbacks and was fearful of older men.
Furthermore, she reported feeling anxious and having sweaty palms when an old man sits beside her on the bus.
The man’s lawyer, Mohamad Hasbu Haneef Abdul Malik, asked for not more than 10 years’ jail due to the man’s guilty plea and advanced age.
According to ST, the definition for rape was expanded in 2020 to include oral and anal penetration without consent.
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Featured image by MS News.
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