Girl who was repeatedly raped by godfather when she was 11: "The man destroyed me completely"

A 45-year-old man repeatedly raped and sexually abused his neighbour’s daughter over a period of six months, when she was just 11-years-old. 

The man was sentenced to 24 years’ jail after pleading guilty on Monday (March 5) to three charges of three charges of aggravated statutory rape and one charge of aggravated sexual assault by penetration.

Although both offences carry at least 12 strokes of the cane, the man, now 52, cannot be caned due to his age, reports The Straits Times. 

The man exploited the girl’s infatuation with a boy whom she met on Facebook and manipulated the Primary 5 schoolgirl into having sex with him at multi-story carparks. 

Despite his actions, the man repeatedly told the girl that sex was not a crime and even gave her a sex toy. 

The man, then a chauffeur, fled to Johor Bahru in his boss’s car and started a new life after his deeds were exposed. 

Five years later, the man’s wife chanced upon him and reported him to the Malaysian police. 

The court heard that the man who had no children of his own was close to the victim and her family. 

He had known the girl since she was born, and she treated him as her godfather, even affectionally calling him ‘papa’ at times. 

The man showered the girl with gifts, such as perfume, lip gloss, an MP3 player and a cake on her birthday.

He also paid for some of her tuition lessons.

In August 2010, the girl who was then 11, got to know someone named Charles on Facebook and told the man about her crush. 

The identity of Charles remains unknown, the court heard.

The man lied that he worked for a man whose children attended an American school where Charles attended and he could pass the messages to the boy for her. 

In order to get close to the victim, he would often talk to her about Charles. 

On one occasion, the girl was at the man’s flat. 

He then led her to the highest floor in the block and sexually assaulted her at the staircase landing, leaving his wife cooking in the kitchen.

The man then instructed the girl not to tell anyone about the incident. 

He also took the chance to rape her on Saturday afternoons when the girl was supposed to be attending tuition lessons between noon and 2pm. 

In October 2010, the man waited for the girl along her usual route to the tuition centre, and then led her to his sister’s car parked at a multi-storey carpark.

The girl who thought that he was bringing her to shop, followed him and boarded the back seat of the vehicle. 

However, the man drove them to a higher, more secluded floor. 

He joined the girl in the back seat and told her that Charles had been injured in school while playing soccer.

The girl became upset and the man consoled her, before proceeding to kiss her.

He then asked her to lie down and took off both their clothes, before raping her, reports Lianhe Wanbao. 

The following week, the man told the girl to meet him 15 minutes before her tuition lesson. 

He then took her to his employer’s car and drove her to another multi-story carpark, where he then raped her in the back seat. 

After raping the girl, he sent her back home just after 2pm, when her lesson was supposed to have ended. 

Meanwhile, the man continued feeding the girl’s lies about Charles. 

In January 2011, when the girl was in Primary 6, she started crying in school.

This was due to the man telling her that Charles had an accident in Malaysia, and was suffering in California.

He promised to take the girl to California to visit Charles. 

The girl was referred to a counsellor by her teacher when she told her that she was having a ‘relationship problem’. 

During her session with the counsellor, the girl talked about Charles, as well as the sexual activities with her godfather. 

The incident was immediately reported to the principal, who then asked to see the girl’s family members. 

While she was in the principal’s office, the girl started crying again as she did not want to get her godfather into trouble and ruin her chance to meet Charles. 

Her elder brother, who was 16 years old then, made a police report that evening. 

Upon finding out that a report was lodged, the man packed some belongings and drove his employer’s car into Johor Bahru.

He later married another woman there through customary rites.

His wife did not see him again until July 26, 2016, when his wife saw him by chance in JB and confronted him.

He was then jailed in Malaysia for immigration offences and repatriated back to Singapore on Sept 1, 2016.

The victim, in a statement to the court, said she constantly cried and wondered why her godfather would flee from Singapore, since he had told her that ‘sex is not a crime’. 

She added:

“Never have I lived life full of negativity, but (the man) destroyed me completely.”