Man, 68, jailed 11 years for sexually abusing step-granddaughter after asking her to sleep beside him
A 68-year-old man has been sentenced to 11 years’ jail after sexually abusing his 11-year-old step-granddaughter over multiple occasions, with the abuse beginning after he invited her to sleep beside him when she could not fall asleep.
He was also sentenced to an additional six months’ imprisonment in lieu of caning, as he is above the age limit for corporal punishment.
His identity, as well as any information that could identify the victim, cannot be published under a court order.
Abuse began during temporary sleeping arrangement
Shin Min Daily News reported that the victim was between 11 and 12 years old at the time of the offence. The accused was her stepfather’s father, who was living in the same home.
Under the family’s usual arrangements, the girl shared a bedroom with the family’s domestic helper, while her step-grandfather slept in another room with her two brothers.
However, in 2021, after the domestic helper contracted Covid-19, the girl was temporarily moved into the room shared by her brothers and the accused for about a week. The man slept on the lower bunk while the girl slept above him.
One night, he noticed she was still awake after getting up to use the toilet and asked why she could not sleep.
When she said she had something on her mind, he invited her to come sleep beside him and she obeyed.
The court heard that the accused then handed her his mobile phone to play with before molesting her and digitally penetrating her.
He stopped only after she began resisting.
On later occasions, the man called the victim into his room, molested her and exposed his genitals to her.
He also grabbed her hand and tried to force her to touch his genitals. The girl clenched her fist and resisted until the man eventually gave up.
He warned her not to tell anyone about what had happened.
Abuse discovered by older brother’s girlfriend
Ashamed of what she had experienced, the girl kept the abuse to herself.
After she entered secondary school in 2022, she finally confided about it to a close friend through text messages.
Although the friend encouraged her to report the matter to the police, she refused because she did not want to worry her parents.
Several days later, her older brother’s girlfriend, who was also the victim’s schoolmate, came across the messages while looking through the girl’s phone.
She informed the victim’s brother, who then told their parents. When confronted, the accused initially denied the allegations and claimed he had only hugged the girl.
He admitted to the offences only after the girl’s stepfather said he would call the police.
The accused was then ordered to move out of the family home.
The victim did not make a police report immediately. Instead, she disclosed the abuse in 2024 when a child protection officer visited the family over separate concerns involving her younger brother.
The officer encouraged her to report the offences to the police.
Victim suffered lasting trauma
The prosecution said the man had treated his step-granddaughter as an “easy target” and betrayed the trust she had placed in him as a family elder.
The repeated abuse left the girl traumatised, causing her to experience sadness, fear, anger and intrusive memories.
She also struggled with insomnia, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating in school and suicidal thoughts.
According to the prosecution, she harmed herself on two occasions in May and June 2025.
The man was sentenced after pleading guilty to three charges. Several other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
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