19 months’ jail for man who committed obscene acts on friends’ special needs teen daughter
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
April 30, 2026
A man repeatedly committed obscene acts on his long-time friends’ special needs daughter when she was between 16 and 17 years old, after caring for her over almost a decade.
He was caught red-handed by the girl’s domestic helper in 2023.
On April 30, the 54-year-old offender was sentenced to a year and seven months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three counts of committing an obscene act on a young person.
Two other similar charges were considered during his sentencing.
The victim cannot be named owing to a gag order. The Straits Times is also not revealing details about the man as doing so could lead to a disclosure of the victim’s identity.
Court documents stated that the girl has attention deficit disorder, learning difficulties and severe dyspraxia, a condition that causes impaired coordination of physical movements.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said that the victim’s parents had entrusted him with her care around 2014 when she was seven to eight years old.
He was her physical trainer and worked with her multiple times a week to help her overcome her dyspraxia.
“Over time, he became the victim’s confidant... as she trusted the accused,” the prosecutor said.
The victim was 16 years old when she was at home with the man for a physical training session between May and June 2023.
After the session, she indicated to him that she felt tension along the side of her body and in her shoulder area.
The man was massaging her when he felt an urge to “take advantage of her sexually”. He then slid his left hand underneath her top and touched her chest.
The victim did not resist, as she trusted him and thought such acts were part of the massage.
After another training session in June 2023, he took her physical measurements as part of his training regime to check whether she was developing properly.
To facilitate the measurements, the girl pulled up her top and exposed her bare upper body. She was unaware that these actions were inappropriate due to her young age and disabilities, DPP Bin said.
“The accused knew that he was supposed to tell her to pull her clothes back down and that he could record her measurements with her clothes on, as he had told her before,” the prosecutor added.
But he did not do so. Instead, he pressed the measuring tape and his fingers against her bare chest, the court heard.
After another training session on Sept 30, 2023, the victim, who had turned 17, told the man that her shoulder felt tight.
He was massaging her when he slipped his left hand underneath her top and groped her chest.
The girl’s domestic helper saw him in the act and shouted at him. He apologised and left the victim’s home.
The helper later told the victim’s parents about what had happened, and the couple confronted him on Oct 5, 2023. He confessed to his actions, and the girl’s father alerted police three days later.
The offender was arrested on Jan 31, 2025, and he was charged in court soon after.
On April 30, he was offered bail of $20,000 and is expected to start serving his sentence on May 18.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
