SINGAPORE – A man sexually abused his brother’s son several times from 1999 to 2002 when the child was between three and six years old.

He also taught the victim how to perform sexual acts. Over time, the victim became fascinated by the encounters and even initiated a sex act with his uncle.

The victim, now 27, was in primary school when he tried to tell his mother about his ordeal, but no action was taken against the offender.

The victim then concluded that his parents did not believe his allegations.

The sexual abuse eventually stopped as his uncle was often jailed for drug-related offences.

The victim later committed sexual offences against his stepdaughter when he became an adult.

During an investigation into her case in 2023, he finally told the police that his uncle had abused him when he was a child.

On March 28, the 60-year-old uncle, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the younger man’s identity, was sentenced to seven years’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of having carnal intercourse against the order of nature with his nephew.

The older man is currently behind bars for drug-related offences and was initially expected to be released from prison in February 2025.

He will start serving his latest sentence after completing the current one.

Court documents did not disclose the outcome of the nephew’s case involving his stepdaughter.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gladys Lim said the victim shared a home with his paternal grandparents, parents, siblings and the offender after he was born in 1996.

His uncle started abusing him three years later.

The victim and his parents moved out in 2000. After this, the victim would occasionally return to his old home to visit his grandparents and his uncle.

His uncle continued to abuse him and on one such occasion, he performed a sexual act on the child some time between 2001 and 2002.

The DPP told the court that the victim was too young to understand what his uncle was doing to him at the time and did not resist.

The uncle later told investigators that he had consumed heroin earlier and was under the influence of the drug when he abused his nephew.

The prosecutor said that due to the offender’s actions, the victim felt sexualised at a young age.

She added: “When he was young, the victim often fantasised about engaging in sexual activities with older women, including his aunt and teacher... He was also unable to forget what the accused had taught him, which he felt led him to (become) a sexual offender himself.

“The victim explained that he had committed sexual offences against his stepdaughter in a similar manner to how... his uncle had sexually abused him.”

The court heard that the younger man had wanted to know what it felt like to abuse another person.

Stressing that this case involved a “cyclical nature of sexual abuse”, the DPP urged the court to sentence the uncle to at least seven years’ jail on March 28.

She also said the uncle had exploited his position of trust when he targeted his nephew.