Teen warned for sexually assaulting sister at 13 gets jail, caning for molesting her again

The teen spent about three years in a boys' home before returning to his family.

File photo of the State Courts of Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: A teenager who sexually assaulted his sister when he was 13 spent a few years in a boys' home before returning to the family and molesting his sister again while she slept.

Although he was found suitable for reformative training, the now-19-year-old was sentenced to 12 months' jail, with one stroke of the cane.

District Judge Carol Ling decided that the need for deterrence outweighed the emphasis on rehabilitation for a young offender.

The prosecution noted that the teen could control his behaviour as he had refrained from sexual relations with his girlfriend out of "religious conviction", but chose not to with his sister.

The court also heard that the family had shown a "limited ability" to maintain protective measures such as separate sleeping arrangements and supervision.

The teenager is appealing against his sentence and is currently out on bail.

The offender cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim's identity.

Based on a judgment made available on Sep 10, he was 13 when he sexually assaulted his sister and molested her without her consent. She is more than a year older than him.

The teen received a 12-month conditional warning. For protective reasons, he was sent to a welfare home for about three years and referred to the Positive Adolescent Sexuality Treatment Programme.

He returned to live with the victim and the rest of his family sometime in 2023.

He shared a bedroom with the victim and their younger brother, with the three sharing two mattresses.

On multiple occasions in February 2025, when he was 17 to 18, the teenager molested his sister at night while she was asleep.

The offence occurred at least twice a week. On some occasions, she woke up and turned away from him or became angry.

The family purchased a bunk bed which was placed in the bedroom in mid-February 2025. The teen and his brother slept on the lower bunk while their sister slept on the top.

Later that month, the teenager woke up and molested his sister while she was asleep on the upper bunk. His younger brother was not in the room.

She filed a police report on Mar 4, 2025.

The teenager, now 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of molesting his sister, with three other charges taken into consideration.

The prosecution had objected to calling for probation and reformative training suitability reports and called for jail with caning.

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lu Huiyi said reformative training was inappropriate given the teen's recalcitrance and the gravity of his offences against his sister.

Ms Lu noted that there was a pattern of reoffending against the same victim and what the prosecution described as a lack of genuine remorse, including the teen expressing hatred towards his sister.

He had also sought to justify his actions by claiming that his sister would "pretend to allow" his touches, said Ms Lu. She said any remorse was primarily towards his mother rather than the victim.

The prosecution also pointed to a poor family safeguarding environment and said that the offender chose not to exercise the self-restraint he had shown with his girlfriend.

The offender was represented by Mr Ashwin Ganapathy and Mr Daniel Yeap from the Public Defender's Office (PDO). They called for probation and reformative training suitability reports, and subsequently argued for reformative training after reports found him suitable.

The PDO lawyers said their client was a young offender who was neither hardened nor recalcitrant. His earlier offence had resulted in a conditional warning rather than a conviction and thus could not sustain a finding of recalcitrance, they said.

They added that their client and his mother had shown effort to reduce the risk of reoffending after he returned home.

The lawyers argued that reformative training would provide a longer and more structured intervention than 12 months' jail. He would spend at least 12 months in a reformative training centre before release, whereas a 12-month jail term could result in about eight months' incarceration with remission.

Judge Ling acknowledged the emphasis on rehabilitation for a young offender but found that this was displaced by the need for deterrence.

She said the fact that there was "only one incident" before the current offences was of no credit to the offender, as a prior sexual offence against his own sister was "one incident too many".

"The fact that the accused's sexual offending was met with a conditional warning instead of court prosecution was an act of leniency extended to him by the authorities – one which he plainly took for granted, as his subsequent conduct showed," said Judge Ling.

She added that it was particularly troubling that the teen had targeted his sister, and there was a "certain vindictiveness" in his conduct.

Prior intervention focusing on his rehabilitation had also failed, said the judge.

The appeal will be heard at a later date.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

这名少年在少年管教所待了大约三年后才回到家人身边。

新加坡国家法院资料照片。（资料照片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：一名少年在13岁时性侵了自己的妹妹，在少年管教所待了几年后回到家中，并在妹妹熟睡时再次对她进行猥亵。

尽管他被认为适合接受改造训练，但这位现年 19 岁的年轻人还是被判处 12 个月监禁，并处以一次鞭刑。

地区法官卡罗尔·林认为，对年轻罪犯而言，威慑的必要性超过了改造的必要性。

检方指出，这名少年能够控制自己的行为，因为他出于“宗教信仰”而没有与女友发生性关系，但却选择不与妹妹发生性关系。

法庭还获悉，该家庭在维持保护措施方面表现出“能力有限”，例如分房睡和监督。

这名青少年正在对判决提出上诉，目前已获保释。

由于有禁言令保护受害者的身份，因此不能透露犯罪者的姓名。

根据9月10日公布的判决书，他性侵并猥亵其姐姐时年仅13岁，且未征得其同意。其姐姐比他年长一岁多。

这名青少年被处以12个月的缓刑警告。出于保护其安全考虑，他被送往福利院约三年，并被转介至青少年积极性教育治疗项目。

2023 年的某个时候，他回到受害者及其家人身边居住。

他和受害者及其弟弟共用一间卧室，三人共用两张床垫。

2025 年 2 月，当时他 17 至 18 岁，多次在夜间趁妹妹熟睡时对她进行性侵犯。

这种冒犯行为每周至少发生两次。有时，她醒来后会转身背对他，或者变得很生气。

2025年2月中旬，这家人购买了一张双层床，并将其放置在卧室里。这名少年和他的兄弟睡在下铺，而他们的妹妹睡在上铺。

当月晚些时候，这名少年醒来后，趁妹妹睡在上铺时对她进行了性侵。他的弟弟当时不在房间里。

她于2025年3月4日向警方报案。

这名现年 19 岁的少年承认两项猥亵妹妹的罪名，另有三项指控被考虑在内。

检方反对要求提供缓刑和改造培训适用性报告，并要求判处监禁和鞭刑。

论证的句子结构

副检察官卢慧仪表示，鉴于该少年顽固不化以及他对妹妹所犯罪行的严重性，改造训练并不合适。

卢女士指出，被告有多次对同一受害者实施犯罪的模式，而且检方称被告缺乏真正的悔意，包括这名少年表达了对他妹妹的仇恨。

卢女士说，他还试图为自己的行为辩解，声称他的妹妹会“假装允许”他触摸她。她说，他所谓的悔意主要针对的是他的母亲，而不是受害者。

检方还指出，被告家庭的保护环境很差，并表示被告没有像对待女友那样表现出自制力。

被告由公共辩护律师办公室的阿什温·加纳帕蒂先生和丹尼尔·叶先生代理。他们要求提供缓刑和改造培训适用性报告，并在报告显示被告适合接受改造培训后，为其争取了改造培训。

PDO律师表示，他们的当事人是一名年轻的罪犯，既非惯犯也非顽固不化。他们指出，他之前的犯罪行为仅受到有条件警告而非定罪，因此不能认定他顽固不化。

他们还补充说，他们的委托人及其母亲在他回家后已努力降低他再次犯罪的风险。

律师们辩称，改造训练比12个月的监禁能提供更长期、更系统的干预。他获释前至少要在改造训练中心待12个月，而12个月的监禁可能最终只判处大约8个月的刑期，并有可能获得减刑。

林法官承认对年轻罪犯的改造很重要，但认为威慑的必要性超过了改造的重要性。

她说，在目前的罪行发生之前“只有一起事件”这一事实对罪犯来说毫无益处，因为之前对自己的妹妹犯下的性犯罪“太多了”。

“被告的性犯罪行为仅受到有条件警告而非法庭起诉，这是当局对他的一种宽大处理——而他显然对此习以为常，他后来的行为就证明了这一点，”林法官说道。

她补充说，尤其令人不安的是，这名少年将目标对准了自己的妹妹，他的行为中带有“某种报复心理”。

法官表示，此前针对他的康复干预措施也未能奏效。

上诉案件将于日后开庭审理。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。