A Taiwanese court has handed down a seven-and-a-half-year prison term to a father who assaulted his two teenage daughters while they slept, a rare firm sentence in a case of long-running family abuse.

• The Miaoli District Court convicted the man on six counts of sexual assault and indecency against victims unable to resist.
• The abuse ran from 2008 to 2016, when the two girls were in high school and junior high school.
• Each daughter was assaulted twice and subjected to indecent acts once.
• The court said he abandoned his duty to protect his children and caused lasting harm to both.
• He admitted the crimes but has never been forgiven by either daughter, which weighed against him at sentencing.

Outlook: The sentence can still be appealed, and the case adds to pressure in Taiwan for tougher handling of abuse inside the family.