SINGAPORE, April 3 — A 55-year-old man was sentenced to 65 months and four weeks in jail for sexually abusing his daughter.

According to The Straits Times (ST), the man shared a bedroom with the girl, then 11-year-old, together with his wife and another daughter.

Due to his age, he was exempt from caning, and a gag order protects his daughter’s identity by withholding his name.

It was reported that the abuse lasted for three years until she confided in her foster parents, who then reported it to the authorities.

Court proceedings revealed that the girl was too frightened to resist as she had previously seen her father hit her mother. The family slept together in a shared bedroom.

The abuse began between 2018 and 2019, with the man waiting until everyone was asleep before molesting his daughter, kissing her, and forcing inappropriate contact. He assaulted her again in late 2020 while she slept, with a third incident occurring around the same time.

At the time of the offenses, the man was unaware his daughter had an intellectual disability.

ST reported that the crimes only surfaced in 2023 when the girl disclosed the abuse to her foster parents, who alerted child protection services on March 9 that year. The girl had been placed in foster care in 2022 following her parents’ separation.

During the virtual sentencing, the defendant showed no reaction as District Judge Crystal Tan delivered the verdict. While both prosecution and defence agreed the man had been unaware of his daughter’s condition, Judge Tan emphasised that deterrence — both general and specific — was central to the sentencing decision.

In Singapore, outrage of modesty carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail, a fine, caning, or a combination of these. For victims below 14, the jail term may go up to five years.