Stepdad tells teen to perform oral sex act on him to teach her how to protect herself against men

Selina Lum
The Straits Times
Jan 26, 2024

After finding out that she was pregnant with her then boyfriend’s child, a teenager moved in with her mother and stepfather who offered to take care of her.

But after she gave birth, the teenager, who was then 16 to 17 years old, was sexually assaulted by her stepfather, who was 46 to 47 years old at the time.

On Jan 26, the man was sentenced to 10 years’ jail by the High Court. He cannot be caned as he is now 50 years old.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of rape for forcing the victim to perform an oral sex act on him in 2020.

The definition of rape in the Penal Code was expanded in 2020 to include oral and anal penetration without consent.

Two other charges, one each of sexual assault by penetration and outrage of modesty, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

In the earlier court hearing on Nov 23, 2023, Deputy Public Prosecutor J. Jayaletchmi told the court that the victim was living with her grandparents after her mother married the accused in October 2017.

In August 2018, the teen moved in with her mother, stepfather and two step-siblings in a one-room rental flat.

She gave birth to a daughter in April 2019.

In 2020, the accused sexually assaulted the victim while her mother, step-siblings and daughter were asleep.

While she was sleeping on a mattress in the living room with the baby, he approached her and pulled her into his room, where he slept alone.

He told the victim that he wanted to teach her how to protect herself against men, and told her to perform an oral sex act.

The victim, who felt helpless, complied with his instructions.

After the assault, she pretended to be sleepy so that she could leave the room as soon as possible, and was told by the man to go to sleep.

In late August 2021, the victim’s uncle advised her to leave the flat with her daughter, after she told him through text messages that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather.

The teenager moved back in with her grandparents on Sept 6, 2021.

On Sept 16 that year, when she visited a family service centre to seek financial assistance for herself and her daughter, she told a social worker about the abuse. She added that she was reluctant to lodge a police report because she was afraid that her stepfather would harm her and her daughter.

The social worker raised the matter with the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Child Protective Service on Oct 5, 2021, and lodged a police report two days later. 

The teen was later seen at the Institute of Mental Health by a psychiatrist. She was diagnosed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the assault, and the abuse was found to have greatly contributed to her major depressive disorder.

The psychiatrist also said that the victim “has strong self-blame over the incident and believes that if she doesn’t exist, none of these would have happened”.

The man was arrested on Oct 8, 2021, and has been remanded in custody since.