By: Chong Shin Yen

SHE was raped by a close family friend when she was only 8.

And the sexual assaults continued for eight more years.

Today, at 16, she's a troubled and broken girl who suffers from low self-esteem.

The secondary school student has mutilated herself on various occasions, cutting herself on her hands and legs.

This is because Jane (not her real name) feels 'very dirty' and dislikes herself.

She has also become promiscuous as a result of the prolonged sexual abuse.

Yesterday, the man who raped her was jailed 24 years after pleading guilty to nine charges of rape, committing an indecent act with a child, unnatural sex and sexually penetrating a minor.

The coffee shop assistant, 59, faced a total of 44 charges. The remaining 35 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

We are not naming him to protect the identity of Jane.

Court papers revealed that Jane would have sex with boys whom she knew for only one or two days, so much so that she has lost count of the number of sexual partners she has had.

Her psychiatric report, prepared by Dr Cai Yiming, senior consultant psychiatrist of the Child Guidance Clinic at the Institute of Mental Health, stated that she is at risk of developing a borderline personality disorder.

Dr Cai also said that there was a high chance of Jane becoming a drug and alcohol abuser and having interpersonal difficulties in future.

Said Dr Cai in his report: 'It would be difficult for (Jane), even with intensive counselling, to show recovery as the effects of the sexual abuse on her were quite severe and over a prolonged duration, involving the use of force and physical objects.'

The harm caused to her was made worse by the fact that it was done by a trusted friend of her parents, a man whom Jane and her siblings called 'uncle'.

The court heard that Jane's father and the man got to know each other in 2000, when both were fellow mediums in a temple. They also worked for the same employer as odd-job labourers.

The man soon became a close family friend, and was regarded as a 'spiritual adviser' by Jane's family.

Jane's father regularly invited the man to stay over at their flat and he would sleep in the study room.

The first time he laid hands on Jane was in early 2001. The man was watching television with Jane and her sister when he started stroking the latter's leg.

Jane's sister moved away, so he turned to Jane and started stroking her thigh.

Jane felt uncomfortable but did not protest as she did not understand what 'uncle' was doing to her.

She responded by hugging him.

The man started having sexual fantasies about Jane, who was the eldest child.

One night, while staying over at Jane's family flat, the man went into her room, woke her up and took her to the study room.

He raped her there. Before Jane left the room, the man reminded her not to tell anyone about what he'd done.

Jane was afraid to tell her parents and kept mum.

In his statements to the police, the man said that after the first time, he kept on returning to look for Jane to rape her.

He also knew that Jane did not tell her parents about what happened.

Continued attacks

Then in 2004, Jane's parents divorced and the family flat was sold.

Jane lived with her mother in a rented flat while her siblings went with their father.

Although the man had his own flat, he chose to stay at the rented flat with Jane and her mother occasionally as the latter trusted him to look after Jane.

The sexual assaults continued on a regular basis when Jane was left alone in the flat with the man, especially on weekends when her mother had to work.

In 2006, Jane and her mother moved again. By then, her mother had trusted the man so much that she allowed Jane to stay over at his flat during the school holidays.

The court heard that when he failed to persuade Jane to visit him to satisfy his lust, he would call her mother, who would tell Jane to go over.

The man also sexually abused Jane with objects such as a banana, and a wooden stick that was used by the man to strike a bell during his prayers.

The offences were discovered when Jane confided in her aunt on 7 Jul last year.

Jane's parents were told and they accompanied her to the police station to make a report the following day.

The man, who is married with four children, was alone in court yesterday.

His wife and children are living in China and he did not have a lawyer.

In his mitigation, he told the court that he had 'lost control' of himself. He claimed he was remorseful and regretted what he did.

He added that he was a lonely person and hoped to spend the rest of his life in 'a peaceful manner'.

'I hope to return to my hometown and be with my family,' he said.

For rape, he could have been jailed 20 years.

For sexually penetrating a minor, he could have been jailed 10 years and fined.

For unnatural sex, he could have been jailed 10 years or for life.

For committing an indecent act with a child, he could have been jailed two years and fined $5,000.

--TNP

This article was first published in The New Paper.