A
father who raped his biological teenage daughter twice in their Punggol flat
was sentenced to 26 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Wednesday (14
November).
“This
is a very sad case of a daughter who was repeatedly raped by the one person in
the world in whom she ought have been able to repose her trust,” said Justice
Lee Seiu in passing the sentence.
“He
betrayed this trust to satisfy his carnal lust.”
The
35-year-old technician was convicted last month on two counts of rape.
No
remorse shown, says judge
The
judge noted that the “only redeeming feature” of the case was that no physical
violence was used.
“However,
against that is the fact that this is a father-daughter relationship and, in my
view, betrayal of such a relationship is as aggravating as physical violence,”
he added.
“He
had raped his daughter in the sanctity of her bedroom and had effectively
driven her out of her home.”
The
father displayed no remorse at all and put his daughter, now 18, through the
trauma of testifying in court in his presence, said the judge.
“All
these events will affect her psychological make-up in the years ahead,” he
added.
Deputy
Public Prosecutor (DPP) Winston Man on Wednesday called for a jail sentence of
28 years along with 24 strokes of the cane. The prosecutor said the man had
abused the trust of his daughter, who was in a particularly vulnerable
position.
“The
(man’s) actions gave rise to dire repercussions for the victim’s life – she is
now estranged from her family and forced to live apart from them,” said Man.
Accused
‘a responsible family man’: lawyer
The
man’s lawyer A Revi Shanker sought a sentence of 15 years’ jail and 24 strokes
of the cane for his client.
The
lawyer described his client as being a “totally responsible family man” who
took care of his mother in addition to his family. He urged the court to
consider the man’s two young children, who still “have a long way to go”.
According
to the counsel, the man’s wife – the victim’s mother – was still very
supportive of him and was present in court that day.
He
told the court that his client intends to appeal against his conviction and
sentence. The man will be out on bail until his appeal case is heard next year.
Background
to the case
Following
a trial that stretched over 10 months, the man was convicted in October on two
counts of raping his then 14-year-old daughter.
The
first offence took place on 19 November 2014. While the daughter was changing
in the flat’s common toilet, her father forced himself inside and raped her.
Less
than two months later, on 9 January 2015, the daughter was heading into the
master bedroom to retrieve her phone when her father grabbed her and carried
her to the bedroom which she shared with her younger sister. He raped his
daughter after covering her face with her blanket.
On
both occasions, the victim’s younger sister and brother were at home.
The
girl testified during the trial that there were also six other occasions that
her father had allegedly raped her while she was sleeping. However, the father
was not charged for these alleged offences.
For
each rape charge, the father could have received a jail sentence of up to 20
years, along with a fine or caning.
Related
stories:
Man and student arrested for MRT fight
Source : Yahoonews
Forex Trading Scams to Watch
The
forex market involves very active trading of over $1 trillion each day, not
including futures and currency options, which put the trading at closer to $5
trillion daily. The market does not have
much in the way of regulation, although things have started to improve
recently.
The
opportunity still exists for many forex scams, which tempt new investors with a
promise of quick fortunes through "secret trading formulas" or
algorithm-based "proprietary" trading methodologies. Before choosing
a broker or platform, go through your own due diligence by visiting BASIC, or
the Background Affiliation Status Information Center, created by the
self-regulatory NFA (National Futures Association).
01
Signal Sellers
Stock
Market Illustration
One
of the challenges a rookie forex investor faces is determining which operators
to trust in the forex market and which to avoid. Signal sellers make a good
example.
Basically,
a signal seller is offering a system that purports to identify favorable times
for buying or selling a currency pair. The system may be manual, where the
trader enters the info and gets a result, or it may be automated.
Some
systems rely on technical analysis, others rely on breaking news and many
employ some combination of the two. But they all purport to provide information
that leads to favorable trading opportunities. Signal sellers usually charge a
daily, weekly or monthly fee for their services.
Some
analysts propose that many or even most signal sellers are scam artists. A
frequent criticism is that if it were really possible to use a system to beat
the market, why would the individual or firm that has this information make it
widely available? Wouldn't it make more sense to use this incredible signaling
system to make huge profits?
Other
analysts distinguish between known scammers and more reputable information
sources such as Metatrader, that offer a well-thought-out signaling service.
Behind
these opposing views lies a larger difference of opinion about whether anyone
can predict the next move in a trading market. This fundamental disagreement
won't be settled any time soon. Nobel Prize-winning Economist Eugene Fama
proposes in his well-regarded Efficient Market Hypothesis that finding these
kinds of momentary market advantages really isn't possible.
His
economist colleague, Robert Shiller, also a Nobel Prize winner, believes
differently, citing evidence that investor sentiment creates booms and busts
that can provide investment and trading opportunities.
The
best way to determine if a signal seller can benefit you is to open a paper
money or practice trading account with one of the better-known forex brokers.
Be patient, and eventually, you'll determine whether predictive signaling works
for you or doesn't.
02
Phony Forex Investment Management Funds
In
the world of investing, outrageous claims are the surest sign of potential
fraud
In
the past few years, forex management funds have proliferated. Most of these, if
not all, are scams. They offer an investor the "opportunity" to have
his forex trades managed by highly-skilled forex traders who can offer
outstanding market returns in return for a share of the profits.
The
problem is, this "management" offer requires the investor to give up
control over his money and to hand it to someone he knows little about other
than the hyped-up and often completely false record of success available on the
scammer's website and brochures.
The
investor often ends up getting nothing, while the scammer uses investors' funds
to buy yachts and private islands.
A
good rule of thumb in the forex market, as with other investments, is that if
it sounds almost too good to be true, such as annual returns of more than 100
percent, for example, it's almost certainly a scam.
03
Dishonest Brokers
Trader
watching stocks crash on screen
Although the forex market is not entirely
unregulated, it has no central regulating authority. The forex spot market is
completely unregulated and accounts for the majority of trades. Unsurprisingly,
some forex brokers do not deal fairly with their customers and, in some
instances, defraud them.
You
have two ways to avoid bad brokers. Before engaging a forex broker, look the
brokerage up on a website that identifies dishonest forex brokers. Better yet,
trade with a broker that also handles other stock market trades and is subject
to SEC and FINRA oversight. While the forex trade itself may be unregulated, no
broker subject to such oversight would risk its license for other securities by
defrauding its forex customers.
