SINGAPORE, May 19 -- A 26-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 18 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Monday for sexually abusing his younger sister over a period of seven years.

The abuse began in 2012 when the offender was 12 years old and his sister was just five or six, and escalated over time into more serious offences.

The offender pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of statutory rape, with eight additional charges taken into consideration, CNA reported.

Neither the offender nor his victim can be named in court due to gag orders protecting the identity of the 19-year-old victim, who is his biological sister.

The siblings lived with their parents and two older siblings in a one-roo...