SINGAPORE — While asleep on her grandfather’s bed, a young girl was jolted awake when she felt pain in her private parts, only to find her teenage brother forcing himself on her.

He did so even though their grandparents were at home, albeit in a different room. At the time, the girl was aged between 10 and 11, and her biological brother was between 12 and 13 years old.

On Wednesday (Nov 8), the boy, who is now aged 16, was sentenced to at least six months’ reformative training for one count of sexual penetration of a minor.

Reformative training is a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.

The siblings cannot be named due to a court order to protect their identities.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that sometime in 2020, the siblings’ grandfather was watching television in the living room and the grandmother was sleeping in another room.

The victim was sleeping on her grandfather’s bed when her brother sexually violated her, court documents showed.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yang said: “The accused then hastily got up from the bed and pulled up his pants before leaving the room.”

The court heard that the girl initially did not inform anyone of this incident because she was afraid that no one would believe her. Court documents did not reveal how the incident came to light.

The brother later admitted that on three separate occasions, he had sexually violated his sister in other ways. It was not clear if these incidents happened before or after the offence that became the subject of the charge.

He pleaded guilty to the single charge on Oct 11, after which the court ordered for a suitability report for reformative training.

The report then recommended a six-month reformative training, to which both the defence and prosecution agreed.

In their mitigation for their client, defence counsels Christine Low and Nelson Chee from Peter Low Chambers had asked the court to take into consideration the family background of the accused, which “has not been stable”.

His mother had divorced more than once since the accused was still a toddler. As a result, he has not had “a stable father figure” in his life during his formative years.

His stepfather is now in jail, though court documents did not mention the nature of his offence.

The defence lawyers also highlighted the teenager’s young age, and that he is “very remorseful” of his actions.

For the offence of sexual penetration of a minor under the age of 16, he could be jailed up to 20 years, and fined or caned.