Man who repeatedly raped teen stepdaughter in van, at home gets 22 years’ jail, caning
Selina Lum
The Straits Times
Sept 1, 2026
Over nine months, a man raped his teenage stepdaughter, both inside his delivery van at an empty carpark and in the family’s one-room flat while her mother and siblings slept.
One of the rapes happened the day after she turned 17.
However, not only did her mother refuse to believe her, she also tried to get the victim to drop the case.
The 43-year-old man was on Sept 1 sentenced to 22 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to four counts of raping the victim, who was then 16 to 17 years old.
Nine other charges, comprising eight for rape and one for possession of obscene films, were considered during sentencing.
The man admitted he had raped the victim on at least 12 occasions between June 2023 and Feb 13, 2024.
Prosecutors told the High Court that the man had sent the victim lewd text messages.
To cover his tracks, he gained cloud access to the victim’s mobile phone to delete the messages remotely or set them to be automatically deleted.
She captured a screenshot of his messages and showed it to her mother.
The man laughed it off and suggested the victim had sent him the messages.
Her mother did not believe her and pressured her to drop the case after a police report was lodged.
In sentencing, Justice Andre Maniam said the man’s abuse of his position and breach of trust led to lasting damage to the victim and the family unit.
The judge noted that the victim hesitated to report the offences out of concern for her younger siblings and how her relationship with her stepfather would be affected.
The victim was placed in a welfare home for two years when her relationship with her family soured.
The victim’s 42-year-old mother has four children with her first husband and three children with the offender, whom she married when the victim was nine.
The victim’s mother and two of her siblings slept on a queen-sized bed, while the other family members slept on mattresses on the floor.
The man, who worked as a delivery driver, installed two CCTV cameras in the flat, purportedly to monitor the children. He was the only one with access to the recordings through his mobile phone.
Raped in van
In June 2023, when the victim was 16 years old, she received lewd text messages from the man asking for sexual acts.
When she refused, he confiscated her phone.
Later that month, at an empty carpark, while the victim was accompanying him on his delivery rounds, he locked the doors and climbed into the back of the van, where she was sorting parcels.
He then raped her while ignoring her cries and pleas for him to stop.
The man returned her mobile phone to her after the assault.
Between July and December 2023, he raped the victim in the van at the carpark on at least five occasions.
In September 2023, a day after she turned 17, the man woke her up by touching her inappropriately while the other family members were sleeping.
He raped her as she cried silently and covered her face with a soft toy.
At around midnight on Feb 13, 2024, the man sent messages to the victim, demanding sexual acts from her for two weeks.
This time, the victim captured a screenshot of his messages before they were deleted.
Shortly after these messages were sent, the man raped her on his mattress.
The girl showed her mother the screenshot, but when the woman confronted the perpetrator, he laughed it off and denied any wrongdoing.
The victim eventually confided in her school teacher, who referred her to the school counsellor.
On Feb 28, 2024, the counsellor reported the incident to the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment helpline and a police report was lodged that day.
CCTV recordings and screenshots found in the man’s two mobile phones showed him engaging in sexual acts with the victim.
He was placed in a drug rehabilitation centre from March 2, 2024, to Sept 6, 2025, and then moved to Changi Prison, where he has been remanded since.
In sentencing submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Alexandria Shamini Joseph said the man groomed the victim by sending her lewd messages and took steps to isolate her by enlisting her help with his delivery rounds.
She added: “His threat to confiscate her mobile phone – a possession of particular significance to a young person – reveals a calculated act to manipulate and control the victim through means he knew would be effective against her.”
The man’s lawyer, Don Tan, said his client was aware of his wrongdoing and had apologised to the victim.
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