Prison sentence for man who sexually abused his lover’s daughter and whose suicide attempt was prevented by SCDF

Warning: This story contains references to suicide.

SINGAPORE: A man forced his lover’s 21-year-old daughter to perform a sexual act and attempted to sexually assault her with a hammer and screwdriver in his hand.

Four days later, he attempted suicide, feeling “guilty and ashamed”, but was rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), who deployed an airbag to catch him.

After recovering from his injuries in hospital, the man fled and remained at large for four years before being arrested in 2021.

The 58-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison on Wednesday (June 19).

His name cannot be disclosed because the victim’s identity is protected by a news blackout that also extends to his own identity.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated harassment and attempted aggravated sexual assault by penetration; a further five counts, including attempted suicide, were taken into consideration.

Although attempted suicide has since been decriminalized, the man was still charged because the crime was committed in 2017, before the law was repealed.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2017

According to the defense attorney, the married man, his lover and their 21-year-old daughter lived together in a one-room apartment.

On April 25, 2017, the woman’s daughter was alone in the apartment when the perpetrator came home drunk.

He got a screwdriver and a hammer, sat on the victim’s stomach and told her that he planned to perform sexual acts on her.

The shocked victim looked for excuses to leave and managed to get into the bathroom, but her mother’s boyfriend followed her inside, still holding the two guns.

He forced her to perform a sexual act and attempted to sexually abuse her.

The victim pushed him away and said she would not tell anyone what had happened, whereupon the man let her go.

She later confided in a relative who reported the incident to the police.

Four days later, on April 29, 2017, the man attempted to commit suicide on the 12th floor of a building but landed on an airbag deployed by the SCDF. This is one of the charges being considered.

According to his lawyer Wee Hong Shern, the man was taken to hospital and told to return to the police station, but he fled.

In October 2017, a police report was issued to determine his whereabouts, but he evaded arrest until June 2021.

PENALTY BASIS

The prosecution demanded a prison sentence of between six years and four months and six years and ten months.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng You Duen found that the man took advantage of the situation when the victim’s mother was not around and he had no way of getting help.

The man had also used a screwdriver and a hammer, which caused considerable fear of injury, and the acts spanned a period of about three hours.

The perpetrator also has a previous conviction for robbery causing personal injury.

Mr Wee instead asked for a prison sentence of five years and 12 weeks, saying his client tried to beg forgiveness from the victim and her mother, but the woman hung up when she realised who it was.

The lawyer said his client was “overwhelmed with lust” when he saw the victim in a compromising situation and felt such guilt and shame that he attempted suicide.

He said his client had been waiting for his injuries to recover and “did not have the courage” to report to the police station again after his recovery.

Suicide attempts were a criminal offence in Singapore under Section 309 of the Penal Code until 2020, after which they were decriminalised. Before that, they could be punished with up to one year’s imprisonment, a fine or both.