Man molests girlfriend's daughter after offering ‘spiritual cleansing’
His girlfriend introduced her teenage daughter to him and the girl referred to him as her "stepfather".
But the 31-year-old man abused their trust and molested the 15-year-old after offering to perform "spiritual cleansing" on her.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the girl's identity, was jailed yesterday for 15 months and ordered to receive three strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of outrage of modesty.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jason Lim said that the girl stayed with her uncle for about three months after her parents divorced.
She moved in with her mother and her boyfriend at their one-room rented flat in the southern part of Singapore on Oct 16 last year.
On her first night, the mother and her boyfriend, who worked in an online business, had a discussion where they agreed the girl needed "spiritual cleansing".
It is not known why.
"(The mother) did not agree or consent for the accused to touch the victim's private parts," DPP Lim said.
The court heard that the woman later told her daughter about the "spiritual cleansing", but the girl kept quiet and went to sleep.
TOUCHED HER
The girl was sleeping between the couple in their living room when she was woken at about 3am the next day when she felt someone touching her.
She realised that the man's hand was underneath her T-shirt and he was touching her stomach area. The man then moved his hand to touch her left breast.
The girl stayed still throughout the ordeal as she was shocked and did not know what to do, the court heard.
The man slipped his hand into her shorts and continued molesting her.
Said DPP Lim: "At this point, the victim then got up and walked away to the sofa area. She remained there and played with her (mobile phone) until about 5.30am before leaving for school."
The girl went to an aunt's house later that day and told her what happened.
The aunt took her to MacPherson Neighbourhood Police Post that evening for the girl to lodge a report.
In mitigation, the man's lawyer, Mr Mohamed Baiross, told District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam that his client was "truly remorseful".
The girl's mother was in court yesterday and she spoke to her boyfriend for about five minutes after the judge sentenced him. She declined to speak to reporters.
For each count of outrage of modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined or caned or receive any combination of such punishments.
(The mother) did not agree or consent for the accused to touch the victim's private parts.
- Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Lim
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