For most children, home is a safe haven and parents should be their source of comfort. But for 14 years, 4 young daughters had to live through hell as their father sexually assaults them on a regular basis.
Now, the 45-year-old is facing the consequences of his actions.
After considering multiple charges including aggravated sexual assault and outrage of modesty, the court sentenced him to 33 years and 2 months in jail, as well as 24 strokes of the cane.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the offender sexually assaulted 4 of his 7 daughters between 2004 and 2018.
On one occasion, he reportedly took his then 12-year-old daughter, identified as V1, to the family’s new flat under construction and sexually assaulted her there.
Since he made sure to isolate his daughters from the family before such assaults, Justice Tan Siong Thye pointed out his clear premeditation.
In addition to the assaults, he once also starved his daughters over 5 days in Sep 2018 all because he was angry with them.
During that episode, he threw out all the food in the house and cut off the power to the fridge, lights, and air-conditioner. The man also instructed his wife not to cook, telling her that the two of them could dine out if they wanted to eat.
The children allegedly survived on tap water and food other family members smuggled to them over the next 4 days.
In carrying out these horrific acts, the offender “abused his position and the trust of his children as their biological father”, CNA quoted the judge.
TODAY reported that the man had pleaded guilty to 7 charges of aggravated rape, molestation, and sexual assault by penetration in relation to V1.
However, the court also took into consideration 26 other charges including:
The former freelance kids’ camp instructor and his wife, now 41, have 7 daughters and 1 son together. He also has a 24-year-old daughter and a 23-year-old son from a previous marriage.
Though he pleaded guilty, Justice Tan noted that it was more for a lenient sentence than out of remorse, stated CNA.
Having caused his children “unimaginable misery and untold torment” and turning their “home into a living hell”, the man initially faced up to 60 strokes of the cane.
But since the statutory maximum is 24, he was sentenced to another 7 months’ jail instead, to make up for the remaining 36 strokes.
Speaking about the man’s offences and charges at length, Justice Tan deemed it “one of the worst cases of rape and sexual assault” he had seen, cited CNA.
Though the offender managed to get away with fewer cane strokes due to the statutory limit, the judge left a stern warning for everyone.
Since the balance strokes were converted to longer jail time, Justice Tan emphasised that nobody can escape with just the maximum 24 strokes after “committing numerous rapes and sexual assaults”.
While the punishments can never take away years of abuse and trauma, we hope that the man’s children will be able to find some comfort in the fact that the law has caught up with him.
More importantly, we hope they’ll receive the help they need to recover from the traumatic incidents and move on with their lives.
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Featured image by MS News.
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