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 contradictions 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.
Source: ST Online
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