Jail for Singapore ex-teacher who tried to engage in sexual acts with three teen girls

The Star

2 days ago

SINGAPORE: A male secondary school teacher, whom the prosecution described as a 'serial predator', targeted three teenage girls on separate occasions and tried to engage in sexual activities with them in 2021.
The youngest victim, then 15, was still a student at his school when he lured her to a hotel room. He then asked her to perform a sexual act on him, but she refused to comply.
The other two victims, then aged 16 and 17, had graduated from the school when he targeted them.
On Monday (Aug 11), the 33-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victims' identities, was sentenced to nine months' jail. He had pleaded guilty to four charges under the Children and Young Persons Act.
He is no longer working as a teacher, and the Ministry of Education told The Straits Times that he stopped working for it in March 2022.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong told the court that the man was posted to the school in 2017 and had given advice to its student councillors.
He regularly received and accepted 'follow' requests from students on his personal Instagram account.
He got to know one of the victims as he had taught her when she was in Secondary 1.
The pair followed each other on Instagram, and she left the school some time before 2021.
In April 2021, the man reached out to her via Instagram to ask how she was doing in her studies. He also turned on the 'vanish mode' feature in the chats, so that the messages would disappear from the platform.
During that month, he began sending sexually suggestive text messages to the girl. Among other things, he asked her to 'fantasise' about him.
DPP Wong said: 'Sometime later that month, the accused attempted to procure the commission of an indecent act by the victim, who was 16 years old... by repeatedly suggesting to her that they become 'friends with benefits' – the implication being that they would meet regularly to engage in... sexual acts with each other.'
The girl rejected his advances and told the man to stop sending her such messages.
He later stopped doing so, and she alerted a former teacher from the school about what the man had done.
The second victim got to know the man when he taught her in Secondary 4. They also followed each other on Instagram, and she graduated from the school in 2021.
In September that year, he turned on the 'vanish mode' on the platform and asked her to tell him about her 'sexual kink'.
The prosecutor said: '(Later), the accused attempted to procure the commission of an indecent act by the victim, who was 17 years old... by informing her that he was willing to have sex with her if she too was open to the idea.
'The accused also added that his home was out of bounds, and they could consider renting a room to have sex together.'
This girl also rejected his advances and stopped communicating with him. She later told a former teacher from the school about the man's conduct.
The third victim was a 15-year-old student councillor, and she often spoke to the man in school.
He asked her out on Oct 17, 2021, and she agreed to meet him.
He then booked a room at a Tanjong Pagar hotel, and she met him there later that day.
The pair were sitting on a bed when he tried to kiss her, but she pushed him and turned her face away. He also asked her to perform a sexual act on him, but she refused to comply.
The man eventually placed the girl's hand over his private parts, and she pulled her hand away.
DPP Wong said: 'The accused stopped after realising his actions made the victim feel uncomfortable... He eventually drove her to her home in his own vehicle.'
On or around Oct 21, 2021, the man continued to send the girl sexually charged messages, and she deleted her Instagram account.
He left the school in December that year.
But in early 2022, he messaged her via Telegram to apologise for his actions at the hotel.
He told her that reports had been filed against him over the inappropriate messages he had sent to the other students. A few days later, the girl told the school about her ordeal.
DPP Wong told court that the girl had reported that she is now unable to form romantic relationships with others.
He added: 'She reported taking 30 days of medical leave per semester and having to take sleeping pills to cope with stress.
'She would also often cry in school. This incident has severely impacted her ability to study and will have lasting ramifications on her prospects.'
The man's bail was set at $20,000 on Aug 11, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on Sept 1. - The Straits Times/ANN