Father jailed for “beastly” abuse of own daughter
High Court jails father of two for 12 years after pleading guilty to repeatedly raping and intentionally poisoning daughter.
A father who repeatedly raped his daughter from the age of 12 and forced her to drink Chinese medicine to abort her child was jailed for 12 years on Wednesday.
Justice Joseph Yau Chi-lap described the case as hair-raising and the father’s behaviour as “beastly”, while handing down the sentence.
He said the fact that the father had continued even after his own daughter had become pregnant and then placed her life at risk by feeding her the medicine to cause a miscarriage made the case especially unbelievable.
In previous hearings, the High Court heard that the father’s sexual assaults began in late 1998 and stopped in 2003 when the victim eventually learnt how to avoid being alone with her father.
Yau told the court yesterday that some of the father’s sexual advances were also witnessed by his son.
The daughter, now in her 30s, alerted social workers to the abuse in August last year when her father requested sex before she was to be married in return for HK$300,000.
The father of two, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of rape and one of administering a poison with intent to procure miscarriage. Three charges of rape and indecent assault remain on court file.
A psychologist report ordered by the judge found the man did not suffer from any psychiatric problems.
Yau said he was pained to hear the victim’s sad and unpleasant experience as she was not only deprived of her father’s love and care, but was repeatedly abused.
He also noted that her mother had not attempted to protect her daughter, which indirectly allowed the beastly behaviour.
“The internal helplessness and pain was obvious,” Yau said.
An impact assessment presented to the court stated that the victim suffered from low self-esteem, relationship difficulties with men and often felt inferior and unclean. The assessment added that the victim’s condition had however improved over time.
