A 35-year-old Singaporean man, who raped his daughter repeatedly when she was a teenager, was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment including 24 strokes of the cane on Wednesday.
The unnamed accused, who used to be a technician, was convicted last month for betraying his own daughter and raping her on two occasions at the family flat in Punggol between 2014 and 2015. But, both the parents of the girl stated that their daughter was laying. The family of the victim blamed the girl for this father's arrest and now she is living with another family.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Winston Man sought for 28 years of jail term as well as 24 strokes of the cane and stated that this punishment is justified because being a parent the man betrayed the trust of his daughter.
The defence lawyer A. Revi Shanker urged for 15 year's jail and 12 strokes of the cane and said that the father of two younger children was a very responsible family man and his wife was also very supportive till date.
When the victim came during the trial she stated that her father raped her eight times within two months. She also added that on November 19, 2014, when she was changing inside the toilet, his father forcefully entered and raped her. On January 9, 2015, the man last time sexually assaulted her inside victim's bedroom, while her mother was out playing mahjong and her two younger siblings were playing games in another room.
The victim, who is now 18-year-old, did not want the family to break up, so she was silent until she confided her then-boyfriend, who was also her schoolmate. After the police report was lodged on January 13, 2015, the officers went to the flat and found a pair of shorts the girl had worn and the later her father's semen was identified on the crotch area.
The accused father and his wife both said that the girl was exaggerating the story to gain her freedom. However, the accused is out on bail of $60,000 and is appealing against his sentencing.
As per the law, Section 375 states that- Any man who penetrates the vagina of a woman with his penis (a) without her consent; or(b) with or without her consent, when she is under 14 years of age, shall be guilty of an offence.
