A SALESMAN was convicted on Wednesday on one count of sexually
abusing his eight-year-old step-daughter and two counts of forcing
her to perform oral sex on him in 2009.
The 30-year-old had testified that the girl was prone to telling
lies, but District Judge Toh Yung Cheong found her to be an
'unusually convincing witness' because of the consistency of the
evidence and demeanour.
The judge also said that the defence had failed to raise any
reasonable doubt and that the credibility of the accused person had
been impeached by the inconsistencies between his statements to the
police and the testimony he delivered in court.
The man will be sentenced on Friday. He could be jailed up to 10
years and fined up to $10,000 on each of the three charges he was
convicted of. Sixteen similar charges have been stood down.
The court heard that the offences were committed between Jan 27
and Oct 2 in 2009. The girl cannot be identified to protect her
identity.
During the 10-day trial, the court heard that the girl, then in
primary school, told her grandmother about the abuses in Sept 27,
2009. Three days later, the grandmother told the girl's mother.
The mother wanted to sure before going to the authorities but in
the meantime, the girl confided in her school counsellor on Oct 2,
2009. Police were called in.
-- ST
