SINGAPORE: A 49-year-old man targeted three of his daughter's underage friends, forcing them to perform oral sex on him by deception, threat of force and in one case, drugging.

For his crimes, the man was sentenced to 20 years' jail and 16 strokes of the cane on Monday (Mar 4).





He had forced one of the girls to eat hypnotic pills that were four times the prescribed amount for adults, threatening to hit his own daughter if she did not comply.

He did so intending to sexually assault the girl, he admitted. As a result, the girl overdosed on the pills - which are listed as poison in the Poisons Act - and was warded in hospital for three days.

His identity is protected by gag order as the victims - who were all aged 14 at the time - cannot be identified.

The court heard that the man lived with his wife and daughter in a flat in central Singapore.



His wife worked night shifts and would return home only in the mornings, while his daughter's three friends often visited their home and stayed over.

They had met in primary school and the first victim, identified as V1 in court documents, was the daughter's close childhood friend and lived in the same block.

FIRST VICTIM WENT SEEKING INSTANT NOODLES, WAS DETAINED

It was this girl that the man first targeted in September 2016. One night, V1 went to his flat to get some instant noodles from her friend, but only the offender was home.

He opened the door for her, but told her that there was "something" outside the house and detained her.

After some time, V1 told the man that she wanted to go home. He went to open the door for her, but began pretending to be possessed, acting strangely, performing silat moves and speaking in a deep voice.

He removed his shirt, pulled down his jeans and moved nearer to the teenager, telling her that she had to perform oral sex on him for him to "become normal again".

The girl was feeling very afraid, said Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew. She complied with his instructions, after which the man pretended to regain normalcy and handed her a cup of water, asking her not to tell anyone about what had happened.

Later that month, the third victim, identified as V4 in court documents, began staying with the man as she had run away from home, sleeping in his daughter's bedroom.

On the morning of Oct 4, 2016, the man woke the girl from her sleep after his daughter had gone to school.

He told her that he wanted her to satisfy him, before molesting her. He asked her to perform oral sex on him, saying that she was staying "for free" at his house.

Frightened, V4 began crying. She pretended that she needed to go to the loo, and fled to the toilet where she sent text messages asking for help.

The man's daughter heard about what happened and asked her teacher for help. Later that morning, two teachers from the daughter's school went to the flat and escorted V4 away.

The man was arrested and released on bail, when he committed other offences.

MAN ASSAULTS FIRST VICTIM AGAIN, THIS TIME THREATENING HER

In July 2017, he turned his attention back to the first victim, who lived in the same block. After being assaulted the first time, she went to the offender's house only when accompanied by his daughter.

After taking the victim to a LAN gaming shop in Geylang that she frequented with his daughter, the man took the girl to his friend's home in Chai Chee, where she watched television and he chatted with his friend.

On the way home past midnight, the battery of the man's electronic bicycle went flat.

He parked it at a petrol kiosk and took the girl to the fourth floor of a multi-storey car park, where he asked her to perform oral sex on him.

She began crying and told him that she did not want to. He told her this would be the last time, but she again refused. Angry, the man held her neck and threatened to punch her, gesturing as if he would punch her stomach.

The girl kept quiet and continued crying, feeling helpless and afraid for her safety, the prosecution said.

She then complied with his demands out of fear, before the two returned to the man's flat in a Grabcar.

MAN GIVES SECOND VICTIM DRUGS, INTENDING TO ASSAULT HER

A month later, V1, V2 and the man's daughter took his electronic bicycle out with a friend of theirs, returning to the flat past 3am.

When the man returned home two hours later, he was angry that the girls had used his device without his permission.

He instructed one of the girls to meet him alone outside the flat, at a staircase landing, to talk.

After hesitation and discussion, V2 went to meet the man. He gave her four Epam Nitrazepam BP 5mg pills and asked her to eat them, intending to sexually assault her.

He told her that he would hit his own daughter if she refused, so she swallowed the pills with some Coca-Cola he handed her. She also smoked a rolled-up cigarette on his instruction.

She was feeling dizzy when the man asked her to perform oral sex on him, but managed to walk away, spotting V1 who had been waiting for her.

The pair went quickly to V1's home and locked themselves in until police officers arrived.

The girl was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital, where she was warded for three days with symptoms of nitrazepam overdose.

According to a toxicology report, nitrazepam is a prescription-only hypnotic medication used to treat insomnia or convulsions, and the usual dose for insomniac adults is 5mg.

MAN HAS LOST HIS FAMILY: DEFENCE

The man admitted to four charges on Monday, with another six charges including of physically hurting his daughter taken into consideration.

The prosecution asked for at least 20 years' jail and 16 strokes of the cane to be imposed, saying that the three victims were merely 14 at the time and that children must be protected under the law from sexual abuse.

Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew pointed out that oral sex, unlike digital penetration with the fingers, exposes victims to the risk of sexually transmitted infections.

He also noted the use of force in the case of the victim who was held by the neck, as well as the use of poison on V2 that could have resulted in "grave potential harm".

Nitrazepam is listed as a poison under the Poisons Act, said the prosecutor, and the 14-year-old was made to take a large dose at one go in what was four times an adult dose.

There was also an abuse of trust in the case of the girl who had run away from home, as the man had taken her in under his roof, said the prosecutor.

Defence lawyer Melvin Loh said his client "offers no excuse for what happened".

He has "lost his family" as a result, said the lawyer, as his wife is in the midst of divorce proceedings and his daughter has expressed hatred for him.

"He understands that it was a foolish mistake and simply asks Your Honour to consider leniency in the matter," said the defence counsel.

Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said she agreed with the prosecution that the offender is "a dangerous predator" preying on vulnerable victims.

"In order to get your way, you resorted to deception, used threat and actual force," she said.

"You really had no regard to her health," she said, referring to the victim he had drugged.

"A stiff sentence is required to deter you and others."