Man Sentenced To Jail For Molesting 3 Minor Stepdaughters

A man has been sentenced to jail for molesting all of his three stepdaughters aged 11 to 15 on separate occasions.

A court in Singapore has ordered a 52-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed owing to a gag order to protect the identity of the victims, to 2 years and 8 months in jail Monday after he was found guilty of three counts of molestation, reported news outlet Today Online.

The man married the victims' mother in 2013. The three girls then moved in with the couple from their hometown in Malaysia. The man reportedly started abusing the teenage girls a year after the wedding.

The man allegedly abused the three girls on separate occasions from 2014 to 2015. The girls kept the incidents to themselves, fearing the couple would split up and they would be sent back to Malaysia.

The mother however found out about the abuse in 2017 when she chanced upon a conversation between the two younger daughters. She then confronted the man about it but the three girls decided to give him a chance and did not report the incident to the police.

"They decided to keep the matter within the family in a bid to keep the family unit intact," the prosecutor told the court.

In February 2019, the police were called to the couple's home on reports of a heated argument between them. The victim's mother then informed the authorities about her daughter's ordeal, reported The Strait Times.

"They were clearly in a very dependent relationship with the accused, who provided a roof over their heads and (was their) new father. It was hence very difficult for them to expose him," Eddy Tham, district judge, said during the sentencing.

Tham also observed that the abuse had left the victims, who were "clearly in a vulnerable state," with great psychological harm.

The man was also ordered to spend an additional 18 weeks in prison in lieu of caning. He was released on a $20,000 bail and intends to appeal his sentencing.