Youngest of 4 brothers who sexually abused sister gets 9 years’ jail, 24 strokes of cane
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 04 Jul 2024
Author: Nadine Chua
In meting out the sentence, the court said the offender abused the trust the victim reposed in him as her older brother, calling his acts undeniably predatory and opportunistic.
The youngest of four brothers who sexually assaulted their younger sister over at least three years was on July 3 sentenced to nine years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
The 19-year-old had pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated rape on March 12. He was between 13 and 16 years old when he sexually assaulted his sister, and is the last of his brothers to be sentenced.
As the sentence was meted out, the offender stared blankly into space. His parents, who were in court, were given time to speak to him after the hearing.
The offender, who has three brothers and three sisters, admitted to sexually assaulting the victim on at least seven occasions.
He claimed that he was addicted to pornography, and chose to sexually assault the victim instead of his other younger sisters as he knew the victim trusted him and would not report his crimes to anyone.
The victim, who is now 14, was between eight and 12 years old when she was abused by her brothers from 2018 to February 2022.
The other brothers are now between 20 and 23 years old.
By the time the youngest of the brothers began abusing her, two of his older brothers had sexually assaulted her on at least one prior occasion.
The court heard that the family lived in a flat with three bedrooms – the parents used the master bedroom, the brothers occupied another room, while the victim and her two younger sisters shared the third.
The parents set ground rules that the brothers were not to go into the girls’ room, unless it was to comb their hair, as there was no mirror in the boys’ room.
The reason for the rule was that all three girls were still young, and all four brothers were already mature.
Despite this, the youngest of the four brothers went into the girls’ room to sexually assault the victim, even when his other sisters were sleeping in the same room.
He also sexually assaulted the victim in their parents’ room, as well as the boys’ room.
After each assault, he would tell her not to tell anyone about what he had done.
On one occasion in 2021, when he was alone at home with the victim, he called her into the boys’ room and raped her.
On another occasion, in December 2021, he went into the girls’ room and woke the victim up. He instructed the victim to perform oral sex on him, and she complied. He then raped her.
On Feb 10, 2022, the victim, who was then in Secondary 1, found the courage to tell the school about the abuse. The Ministry of Social and Family Development was alerted, and a police report was made.
The prosecution said that after the victim disclosed the abuse, she felt bad for reporting her brothers’ acts and blamed herself for not stopping them when they sexually assaulted her.
According to a psychologist’s report, the victim’s mother expressed feelings of anger and disappointment towards the victim, and blamed her for the consequences, such as the adverse impact on the brothers’ futures.
In meting out the sentence, Justice Mavis Chionh said the offender abused the trust the victim reposed in him as her older brother, calling his acts undeniably predatory and opportunistic.
Justice Chionh noted that because the offender did not use a condom when he abused her, the victim was exposed to the risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The victim also suffered psychological and emotional trauma because of his acts, the judge added.
In May, the eldest brother, who pleaded guilty to eight charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration and was between 18 and 21 years old when he committed the offences, was sentenced to 20 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
That month, the second brother was sentenced to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to three charges of aggravated rape. He was 16 to 20 years old when he committed the offences.
In June, the third brother was sentenced to reformative training for at least 12 months after pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. He was between 16 and 17 years old when he committed the offence.
Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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