Christians Under Attack

reportedly fathered scores of children by several wives and has been charged with raping and molesting the six girls over several months, The Straits Times reported.

The identity of the 45-year-old father has not been revealed to protect the identities of his victims.

The alleged rapes came to light in June 2005, and the man was arrested.

His personal lifestyle is believed to be an isolated case in the city-state.

He fathered more than two dozen children 12 years ago, the newspaper said, and the numbers have more than doubled since then.

The man had several 'contractual wives' in Singapore, in which a Muslim couple enter into a union for a fixed term. While the practice is prevalent in certain Shia societies, it is not recognised in the city-state, and such marriages are invalid.

'Under Sharia law, contractual marriages are banned in the region,' Ustaz Abdul Majeed Maideen, an official with the Singapore Islamic Schools and Religious Teachers Association, was quoted as saying.

These marriages can be 'the subject of abuse,' said Ameerali Abdeali, secretary-general of the Islamic Fellowship Association.

Copyright DPA http://www.dailyindia.com/show/15935.php/Man_accused_of_r...