Man who raped stepdaughter gets 24 years' jail, 24 strokes of the cane

A 38-year-old man who raped his stepdaughter when she was between eight and 10 years old was sentenced to 24 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Aug 26.

- Selina Lum

Prosecutors told the High Court that the victim suffered in silence for years before she found the courage to speak out in 2023, about two years after the last incident of abuse.

On July 11 that year, the victim's form teacher spoke privately with her after the girl acted "abnormally" in school, the court was told.

After the girl disclosed that her stepfather had touched her, the school leaders alerted the Ministry of Social and Family Development's Child Protective Service, which lodged a police report on the same day.

On Aug 26, the man pleaded guilty to two charges of statutory rape and one charge of aggravated outrage of modesty.

Four other charges of sex-related offences were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynn Tan said the man had looked after the victim since she was two years old and regarded her as his daughter.