SINGAPORE, Aug. 6 -- A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months in jail, along with 12 strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to raping a deaf and mute 13-year-old girl who was a family friend.

He also admitted to going absent without leave from his national service duties with Singapore's Civil Defence Force for more than a year.

Two molestation charges were taken into consideration during sentencing. A gag order bars the identification of both the man and his victim, The Straits Times reported.

The offence took place in November 2024 at the man's rental flat, where the girl - known to the family through his wife - had been asked to stay overnight while her mother attended an event.

The next morning, while h...