Man jailed for 'heinous' crimes, including raping two daughters over 14 years

First, he raped the eldest of his three daughters. Then he raped his second daughter. But when he turned his attention to his youngest girl, he met his match.

Not only did she manage to escape his clutches, but she also ended his years-long reign of terror by exposing his sordid crimes.

The 55-year-old man, who sexually assaulted all three of his biological daughters at various periods over 14 years, was sentenced to 33 years in jail yesterday, The Straits Times reported.

The former cleaner in a primary school cannot be caned as he is above the age of 50.

He also cannot be named because of a gag order to protect the identities of his daughters, who are now between 13 and 26.

The man began targeting them after each turned 11 or 12 years old.

His two older daughters, whom he repeatedly raped for years, have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The second daughter also has major depressive disorder and will need psychological therapy.

The accused was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and found to have a high risk of re-offending.

He pleaded guilty to four charges - one for rape of the eldest daughter, two for rape of the second and one for asking the youngest to have sex with him. Eight similar charges were considered during sentencing.

Calling the crimes "utterly heinous and abhorrent", High Court judge See Kee Oon noted that the father might have continued if not for his youngest daughter's courage in reporting him.

"The accused had caused significant physical and psychological harm to all three of his daughters and severely violated their trust in their own father. There is a compelling need to prevent the accused from lapsing into recidivism," he said.

The court heard that the man, who also has a son, now 17, started sexually assaulting the eldest daughter when she was around 11 years old in 2005, after watching pornography.

The offences, including numerous rapes, continued until she turned 16 or 17 some time in 2010 or 2011.

Then he preyed on his second daughter, who had turned 12.

From 2010 to 2019, he repeatedly raped her, made her perform oral sex on him and performed other penetrative sexual acts on her.

Both girls did not tell anyone about their ordeals as they were too terrified of their father, who had warned them to keep silent.

He last raped his second girl in the kitchen on the night of Oct 19, 2019, while his wife was asleep in the living room.

Three nights later, he gestured to his youngest daughter, then 12, to come to him.

Having seen him sexually assault her second sister and from her experience of being molested by him in June 2018 when she was 11, she knew what was coming next.

Not wanting to suffer the same fate as her sisters, she shook her head and started crying.

"The accused became angry and frustrated but did not pursue the matter further," Deputy Public Prosecutor Norine Tan told the court.

The next day, her friends advised her to tell her teacher after she confided in them. The teacher then took her to make a police report.

The offences against her sisters came to light during their interviews with the police.

The prosecution had sought at least 35 years and four months' jail, including a one-year term in lieu of caning.

DPP Tan said the 12 charges against the man were "hardly even sufficient to encompass the extent and egregious nature of his wrongdoing".

"It would be fair to say that this case represents one of the worst of its kind when it relates to sexual offending," she added.