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SINGAPORE: A man who raped and impregnated his 14-year-old intellectually disabled stepdaughter was sentenced to 19 years and four months\u2019 jail and 16 strokes of the cane on Monday (Feb 23).<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old man, who is stateless, cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim. The case came to light after the girl complained of abdominal pains and was found to be pregnant upon visiting the hospital.<\/p>\n
The hospital made a police report because she was a minor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doctors at the Institute of Mental Health assessed her to have an IQ of 42, which indicates that she is moderately intellectually disabled.<\/p>\n
The victim gave birth to the baby and the child is currently with a foster family.<\/p>\n
Even though she was 14 years old, her rapist observed that she behaved like a child who was about eight years old, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alongside her mother, her stepfather was responsible for disciplining her. \u201cHe counted on his victim\u2019s silence, her confusion and her complete dependence on him,\u201d Ms Boppana argued, stressing the severity of sexual offences against those who are intellectually disabled.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue enough, as we see from the facts, the offences only came to light through the victim\u2019s pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prosecution called for 19 to 22 years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane for the girl\u2019s stepfather, noting her young age, intellectual disability, and her pregnancy as aggravating factors in the case.<\/p>\n
The girl was unable to understand sexual relations or explain how babies are conceived. Court documents showed that she could state that her stepfather \u201cgave her sex\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this case particularly egregious was that the accused was acutely aware of these facts,\u201d said Ms Boppana, describing the man\u2019s actions as a \u201ccalculated exploitation of her profound vulnerability\u201d.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s lawyer, Ms Mumtaj Banu of Mumtaj Banu Law Corporation, said he is truly remorseful for his actions and ashamed of what he has done.<\/p>\n
\u201cWords cannot undo the past or return the victim her happier days,\u201d she said in mitigation, noting that the victim had gone through pregnancy at a very young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sincerely apologises to the victim for the irreversible harm she has suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asking the judge to consider a jail sentence closer to the lower end of the range put forward by the prosecution, Ms Banu said the man hopes for a sentence that is \u201cnot too crushing\u201d as he still wants to leave prison as a reformed person.<\/p>\n
He wants to rebuild his family and is determined to try and fix their relationship, she said. Neither the man nor his wife has filed for divorce.<\/p>\n
In delivering her judgment, Justice Audrey Lim noted the need for a heavier sentence to deter would-be offenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the accused began to touch the victim, she did not know what he was doing or how to put a stop to his acts,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Every act of rape inflicts immeasurable harm on a victim, and the man\u2019s actions violated the dignity of her right to sexual autonomy, and left irretrievable physical, emotional and psychological scars, said the judge.<\/p>\n
While the case is \u201cundoubtedly serious\u201d given the aggravating factors, it does not fall within the most serious instances of the offence, said Justice Lim, stressing that this in no way diminishes the gravity of the crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree with the prosecution that this is a very serious and heinous case \u2026 Deterrence and retribution must serve as predominant sentencing considerations given the severity of the offence committed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man lived with his wife, two of their children and his stepdaughter in a one-room flat at the time of the offence. The girl, now 15, is his wife\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
As the sole breadwinner, the man knew she was heavily reliant on him and her mother to fulfil simple, daily tasks, the court heard.<\/p>\n
At home, the three children slept together in the living room. In May or June 2024, the man returned home drunk at about 7am, after completing a shift working as a bouncer at a club.<\/p>\n
The man saw his stepdaughter sleeping in front of the main door with her half-siblings nearby. He started touching her before eventually raping her.<\/p>\n
In September that year, the victim went to the hospital because of abdominal pains, where her pregnancy was discovered.<\/p>\n
After learning that her daughter was pregnant, the man\u2019s wife confronted him, but the man denied having done anything.<\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s other daughter had told her mother about witnessing him performing sexual acts, but since his wife did not witness these acts herself, she trusted that he would not harm her daughter, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Further investigations revealed that the man had impregnated the victim, and paternity tests after the baby was born confirmed this.<\/p>\n
The maximum sentence for rape is 20 years\u2019 jail, a fine and caning. The jail term can be doubled if the victim was in a close relationship with their rapist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n