SHE was raped thrice, the first time when she was only seven
years old. Her attackers were her brother's friends.
Then it happened again, this time at the hands of a stranger in
a park. When she became pregnant, the then 13-year-old used an iron
rod to get rid of the foetus because she 'did not know what else to
do'.
But on Monday night, she was able to face the cameras and talk
about her ordeal.
Ms Lin Ai Ling's life story was aired on the MediaCorp show, New
Beginnings, hosted by celebrity Quan Yifeng.
During the hour-long show, the 35-year-old also revealed her
third rape - by her father's good friend - whom she married at 18.
She eventually divorced him, citing physical abuse.
Senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, Mr
Charles Lee, applauded Ms Lin after watching the programme.
'For her to talk about what happened shows that she has moved
on.
'It's extraordinary and must have taken a lot of courage on her
part - hopefully, this will give others the strength to come out
and seek help too,' he told straitstimes.com today.
The counsellor, who has 18 years experience and worked with two
rape victims in the 1990s, added that rape victims are likely to
suffer low self-esteem, develop personality disorders, encounter
relationship difficulties and different perceptions of sexuality.
Some may even turn to drug abuse to block out their anguish. Ms Lin
suffers from depression.
The show's executive producer said Ms Lin and her husband, Liu
Guo Cheng, 38, had called MediaCorp's hotline.
Malaysian Chinese daily Sin Chew Daily said the unemployed
couple are facing financial difficulties.
Ms Lin, who cried during parts of the show, had told Mr Liu
about her background before their marriage registration. She was
happy that despite her troubled past, he still wanted to marry
her.
-- ST
