A 63-year-old man in Singapore is under investigation for allegedly confining his 15-year-old daughter to a tiny market stall for nearly a year. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the man, surnamed Tan, had been selling vegetables at a market on Circuit Road for a decade. He allegedly made his teen daughter live in one of the three stalls he rented at the wet market for 11 months. The 15-year-old was discovered when a neighbouring stall owner smelled excrement coming from Mr Tan’s stall and reported it to Singapore’s National Environment Agency. 

The staff from the agency discovered the girl in April, SCMP reported. The 15-year-old had been living in the six-square-metre space. Crammed into the small area was a desk, fridge, fan and a makeshift dirty bed on the floor. 

Neighbours said that the father-daughter duo, originally from Malaysia, had been living in the stall virtually day and night. They had never seen the girl go to school. The neighbours said that the 15-year-old did not leave the stall, even to wash or go to the toilet, and the gate was shut during the day as well as at night. 

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Mr Tan was protective of his daughter and never let her talk to other stall owners, they said. He also rejected offers to help. “He did not beat or abuse her, but treated her like a pet,” a neighbour said, per SCMP. The neighbours also said that the duo used to have a home, but was not known why they moved to the stall. 

Singapore’s National Environment Agency reported the case to the Ministry of Social and Family Development, following which the girl was sent to hospital for a check-up. Neighbours said they spotted Mr Tan a few times after his daughter was hospitalised. He reportedly told them he would be taking her back to Malaysia. 

The police are investigating the father for alleged child abuse. The probe is yet to reach a conclusion. 

Notably, under Singapore’s Children and Young Persons Act, ill-treatment of a child aged 16 or younger can result in a fine of up to USD 5,900 and a maximum jail term of eight years.