A 55-year-old man who sexually assaulted all three of his daughters over a period of 14 years was sentenced to 33 years in jail on Tuesday.
The man, who cannot be named due to gag orders to protect the identities of his daughters, pleaded guilty to four charges of rape, aggravated rape and attempting to procure an indecent act with his youngest daughter.
He Claims He 'Developed Urges' After Watching Porn
The man, who is a cleaner, married his wife in 1993 and had three daughters who are now 13, 22 and 26, in addition to a 17-year-old son. He started making sexual advances towards his daughters after they turned 11 or 12 years old after watching pornography and "developing urges," prosecutors said.
He forced his eldest daughter into the acts while she was doing her homework and continued to sexually assault her. He continued to rape her multiple times before stopping between 2010 and 2011 when she turned 16 or 17.
He then turned his attention towards his second daughter, who was 12. He raped her and sexually assaulted her for nine years, sometimes a few times a week, until 2019. He made her perform oral sex on him and carried out other penetrative sexual acts on her.
In his last rape offence against his second daughter a week before his arrest, he assaulted her in the kitchen while his wife was sleeping in the living room. He committed the crimes between 2005 and 2019 but his daughters did not tell anyone out of fear.
In October 2019, the man set his eyes on his youngest daughter, who was 12. He tried to have sex with her but did not pursue the matter out of frustration after she started shaking her head and crying. The child later confided in her friend, who urged her to report the abuse to their school teacher, eventually leading to the man's arrest.
The man was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and was found to have a high risk of reoffending. He cannot be caned as he is over 50.
Daughters Diagnosed with Depression, PTSD
As a result of years of abuse, the two oldest daughters have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The second daughter also has major depressive disorder and will need psychological therapy in the future.
"The accused had caused significant physical and psychological harm to all three of his daughters and severely violated their trust in their own father," said High Court judge See Kee Oon during sentencing.
Justice See described the man's crimes as "utterly heinous and abhorrent", saying he might have continued if not for his youngest daughter's courage in reporting him. Justice See considered eight other similar charges during sentencing.
Prosecutors sought a total sentence of at least 35 years and four months' jail, which included a one-year term in lieu of caning, noting that the 12 charges pressed against the man were "hardly even sufficient to encompass the extent and egregious nature of his wrongdoing."
