A 53-year-old man has been sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s daughter when she was just 10 and 11 years old, according to The Straits Times.

The sentence was delivered on February 20 by Justice Aidan Xu, who considered the significant harm inflicted on a very young victim and the fact that the offender had abused his position of trust within the family. The accused cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the child.

The court heard that the offences took place between February 2021 and February 2022. The abuse occurred in the family’s one-room rental flat and in a rented van parked at cemeteries, where the couple would go for work during odd hours. The victim and her younger brother would accompany them.

The man, who is stateless but born in Singapore, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault by penetration, two counts of outrage of modesty and one count of sexual exploitation of a child. He was found guilty of all seven charges on January 19 after a trial that began in April 2025, The Straits Times reported.

In court, the girl’s mother broke down in tears upon hearing the sentence. Earlier evidence revealed that the child had confided in her mother about the abuse in December 2021. However, the mother initially chose to believe the man when he denied the allegations. Prosecutors said this deeply affected the victim, who felt betrayed after summoning the courage to speak out.

The offences eventually came to light when the girl confided in her older half-sister. Her father later accompanied her to file a police report on February 3, 2022, and the man was arrested the following day.

During the trial, the accused denied the charges, claiming he only moved into the flat in April 2021 and had no opportunity to commit the offences in the van. However, Justice Xu rejected his defence, pointing to inconsistencies between his court testimony and earlier statements given to police. The judge described the victim’s testimony as clear and detailed, and sufficient to support a conviction, according to The Straits Times.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En had sought between 22 and 24 years’ jail, plus additional jail time in place of caning. However, the court ruled that no extra jail term was needed in lieu of caning. The man cannot be caned because he is above 50 years old under Singapore law.