Court
The defendant faced five charges in total.
March 31, 2026, 09:47 AM
A 50-year-old man in Singapore has been charged after he sexually assaulted his female friend’s daughter.
The defendant was between 39 and 40 when the offences took place, while the victim was aged nine to 10 at the time.
The case was heard in the High Court on Mar. 30, according to Chinese news daily Shin Min Daily News.
The defendant faced five charges in total, including sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.
He pleaded guilty to one sexual assault charge, with the remaining four charges to be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The identities of both the defendant and the victim cannot be disclosed due to a gag order protecting the identity of the victim.
The case
Shin Min Daily News reported that in 2015, the victim’s mother introduced the defendant to her daughter.
At the time, the victim and her mother were living with the victim’s maternal grandparents.
The defendant was said to have frequented their house. On some occasions, the maternal grandparents would let him in; on others, he would enter if the front door was unlocked.
He often took the victim out for meals and brought her swimming on several occasions.
The victim was said to have regarded the defendant as an older-brother figure, and her mother believed he treated the child like his own daughter.
On the day of the first assault, the defendant obtained the mother’s consent to take the victim out, telling her he would bring the victim to find her.
Instead, however, he took the victim to a nearby HDB block.
He told her he wanted to bring her to get some fresh air, led her up a stairwell, and stopped on one of the floors.
He then proceeded to ask her to perform oral sex on him.
The victim, who did not understand what was happening, complied with his instructions.
Afterwards, the defendant took the victim out for a meal before sending her home.
The assault only came to light years later, when the victim disclosed it during a counselling session when she was 16.
Criminal history
According to Shin Min, the prosecution noted that the defendant had a history of similar offences.
In 2007, he was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane for outrage of modesty, and separately received three years’ imprisonment for kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
In 2017, he was also sentenced for similar offences.
After hearing submissions from both sides, the judge adjourned the matter for sentencing.
Psychiatric assessment
A psychologist from the Institute of Mental Health assessed the defendant and found that he suffers from paedophilia, which was identified as a direct contributing factor to the offence, Shin Min reported.
The psychologist also noted that the defendant has persistent depressive disorder, though this condition was not linked to the commission of the offence.
The defendant was assessed to be at risk of reoffending.
Top photos from Shin Min Daily News and AFP
