A 38-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced on August 3, 2026, to 21 years' imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane for sexually exploiting and raping his 13-year-old niece over almost two years [1, 2, 3, 4].
The offender, the victim’s paternal uncle, had a close relationship with her father, his older brother. The sexual relationship began shortly after the niece's 13th birthday in September 2022 during a celebration he took her to, and included multiple instances of molestation and rape [1, 2, 3, 4].
Before she turned 13, the victim’s interactions with her uncle were limited to family gatherings and special occasions. However, soon after her birthday, they began exchanging daily romantic messages and considered themselves a couple by October 2022 [1, 2, 3, 4].
In November 2022, during a family trip to Genting Highlands in Malaysia, the uncle performed sex acts on the victim while alone in his room. The victim’s parents allowed her to sleep over at his home, where further sexual offences took place [1, 2, 3, 4].
The offender used bondage equipment such as a blindfold and rope during the assaults. He also used coercion tactics including guilt-tripping and threats to upload nude photos and videos to prevent the victim from ending the relationship [2, 3, 4].
At the time of the offences, the man was in a relationship with a woman he later married in May 2024, though they did not live together [1].
The man pleaded guilty to six charges including statutory rape, sexual assault, and threatening to distribute intimate images of the victim [1, 2, 3, 4]. Deputy Public Prosecutors Chin Jincheng and Joelle Loy said, "In reality, the accused blatantly and repeatedly violated her parents’ trust. Capitalising on his easy access to her, he robbed her of her innocence by taking her virginity when she was 13 years old and habituated her to all kinds of illicit sexual activity with him" [2].
