Elderly man rapes daughter’s helper, gets 19.5 years in jail
On Friday (24 Jan), a 67-year-old man was found guilty and sentenced for raping his daughter’s helper.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred at 11.50pm on 5 Jan 2020.
The man and the helper were alone at home while the rest of the family were overseas, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
He allegedly invited the helper to drink wine and watch television with him.
Afterwards, he administered “supplement injections” to her on the sofa before sexually assaulting her for half an hour.
Source: doidam10 on Canva, for illustration purposes only
The helper did not consent and could not resist due to feeling too weak from what had been consumed.
The accused then carried her onto her bed. Although there was a CCTV camera in her bedroom, the man had adjusted it before giving her the “supplement injections” so the bed was not in view.
After the distressed helper awoke at 4am the next day, she called her sister.
When the man’s daughters returned on the night of 8 Jan 2020, she told them what had happened. They took her to lodge a police report the next day.
CCTV footage corroborated helper’s account
In November 2024, the man went on trial for five charges including rape and sexual assault. He decided to represent himself.
The prosecution showed the CCTV footage from that night, which the judge, Justice Chionh, found corroborated the helper’s testimony.
The man’s own admissions also supported the victim’s claims.
As such, the judge found him guilty of four of his charges, with sexual assault by penetration being dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Man used ChatGPT to draft mitigation
The sentencing court session occurred on 24 Jan.
During the session, the judge found that the man’s mitigation submissions cited legal cases that did not exist.
He admitted using ChatGPT to draft them and said “I stand educated” when informed that it was not a legal research tool.
Source: Matheus Bertelli on Pexels, for illustration purposes only
In sentencing, the judge said that the offender exploited the fact that the victim could not fend off his sexual advances.
Justice Chionh also found evidence of premeditation, as the man committed his crime when the helper was alone with him. He also offered her wine and adjusted her bedroom’s CCTV camera.
Allegation that daughter’s helper falsely accused man for money rejected
During the trial, the man alleged that the helper made a false accusation because she hated his daughter or wanted monetary compensation.
The judge rejected this when considering the sentence due to a lack of evidence, with the offender’s daughter having testified that the helper did not demand money.
Justice Chionh ultimately sentenced him to 19.5 years in prison. As the man is over 50, he cannot be caned.
The court held off his imprisonment as he expressed his intention to appeal. He added that he would hire a lawyer for his appeal instead of representing himself.
He is currently out on S$80,000 bail from his daughters.
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Featured image by MS News and adapted from doidam10 on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
