28 Yrs Jail for Dad Who Sexually Abused His Own Daughter Since She Was a 3YO | She Was "Robbed of Her Childhood Innocence"

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 15, 2021. It has since been updated.

Trigger Warning: This story contains details of sexual abuse inflicted on a minor which may be disturbing to readers.

Fathers are meant to be their daughter's first hero, but for this young girl, her dad was her nightmare who robbed her of her "innocence". The victim, who was scared of taking showers alone because of television shows that showed drowning, asked her dad to accompany her. That's when the 44-year-old man realized he was a pedophile and there was "no turning back," as he'd "developed a sexual desire" for the victim, according to CNS.

The man moved to Singapore in 2008 with his wife and their daughter, whom he started sexually abusing when she was just 3 years old and continued to do so for nearly eight years, with the offenses escalating to rape. The alleged offenses would take place when the wife went to work, leaving the father alone with the victim. The vile man not only assaulted his daughter, he also sexually abused his daughter's friend when she came home.

He would also show his daughter pornography. Between December 2011 and June 2019, he assaulted his own daughter more than 10 times but less than 20 times, according to the man's own admission.

Heartbreakingly, the little girl put up with all this abuse because she did not want to be the reason for her parents to get a divorce. She tried, multiple times, to say no to her father, but it was of no use, so the poor girl would look away when her father assaulted her.

The man would have gotten away with his crimes, had it not been for his daughter's friend, who spoke about his inappropriate behavior during a confession at her first communion, in 2019. At the time, she was asked to confess her sins, which is when she revealed that the accused had behaved inappropriately with her, back in 2017.

In March 2021, the man pleaded guilty to three charges of statutory rape, with another 19 charges considered in sentencing, according to another CNS report. Finally, on April 26, 2021, the man —whose name has been withheld on purpose— was sentenced to 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

A report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) stated the man had paedophilic disorder but it found no substantive contributory link between his disorder and the offenses. The court also heard he had a "period of distress" due to work stress. The defense said 30 years was "too crushing a sentence" and asked for 24 and 26 years.

The little girl "tolerated years of abuse despite knowing what the accused did to her was wrong, and disliking it", prosecutors said.

She obeyed him each time he "wheedled her into compliance" and despite the horrible crimes her father's committed, she continues to write him letters, to tell him that she loves and misses him, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Yvonne Poon and Lim Ying Min.

"The greatest tragedy, in this case, is that she (was) robbed of her childhood innocence by her own father," Justice Mavis Chionh said. The victim's mother, who has since divorced the offender, told the cops that she discovered child erotica stories in the man's email inbox.

"For the bulk of her life, every single home in Singapore that the victim resided in has been the site of some odious sexual activity with the accused. She was not safe from him even in her own bedroom. Throughout this period of up to seven-and-a-half years, the accused made the victim choose, time and time again, between the sanctity of her person versus her affection for her father and the wholeness of her family," said the prosecuting team.

References:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/man-rape-daughter-age-three-porn-paedophile-14497278

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/jail-and-caning-for-man-who-sexually-abused-daughter-from-the-14697734

Cover Image Source (Representative) : Getty Images | Mayur Kakade