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Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Tutor under investigation for allegedly buying vape for 13-year-old student in Singapore
SINGAPORE, June 7 — A private tutor in Singapore is being investigated by authorities after allegedly helping a 13-year-old student purchase an e-cigarette. The incident came to light after the girl's secondary school contacted her father on May 21 to inform him that his daughter had been caught with a vape device. According to Shin Min Daily News, the school's discipline master said the girl had admitted to asking her Chinese tutor to help buy it online. The father, surnamed Zhu, 33, told the paper he was 'extremely shocked' and later checked his daughter's chat history with the tutor. 'I saw that the tutor purchased the e-cigarette online and even sent screenshots to my daughter. She handed the e-cigarette to my daughter on May 19,' he reportedly said. 'At the time, my daughter said she would pay S$78 (RM256) to her during the next lesson.' The tutor had been hired through an agency in 2024 to provide weekly Chinese lessons while the girl was in Primary 6. Lessons were conducted behind closed doors in the girl's room every Monday. Despite nearly a year of tuition, Zhu said her grades did not improve. 'My daughter's Chinese grades this year were failing. I originally thought it was her own fault, but now I know the tutor wasn't teaching seriously at all,' he said. He added that after the first three proper lessons, the tutor had spent most of her time chatting with the girl and even bought her snacks and cosmetics. Zhu said: 'Later I called the tutor directly, and she initially denied it. It wasn't until I told her I had already seen their chat records that she immediately hung up and blocked me.' He added, 'The tutor should have known better than to satisfy the curiosity of the girl by buying the vape on my daughter's behalf.' The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) confirmed with Shin Min that it is investigating the case. It reminded the public that importing, distributing, or selling e-cigarettes and their components is illegal in Singapore. First-time offenders face fines of up to S$10,000, jail of up to six months, or both. Repeat offenders face double the penalty. Zhu also reported the incident to the agency that had arranged the tuition. A spokesman told Shin Min that the agency has removed the tutor from its roster and taken steps to prevent similar incidents in future. Following the discovery, Zhu has taken stricter measures at home. He said he now leaves the door open during tuition sessions and regularly checks his daughter's school bag.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tutor Wonders If It's Okay to Ask a Family to Pay Her Throughout the Summer Despite Not Providing Lessons
A tutor turned to Mumsnet for advice on how to handle her challenging financial situation over the summer break She is contemplating asking one of the families to pay her over the summer, despite them not requiring any lessons 'In future, price accordingly, assuming that you won't be needed for the holidays. Incorporate your holiday 'pay' into the usual fee and set some money aside,' one reader suggestedA tutor is worrying about staying afloat financially over the summer break — and wondering whether it would be presumptuous to ask one of the families she works for to help. She detailed her dilemma on the community forum Mumsnet, explaining that she works for three families, all of whom have different schedules and payment approaches. One continues to employ her over the summer, and the second does not require her services during the break but still pays her year-round. The third family had the OP (original poster) working year-round the first year, but then the second year she was informed at the last minute that they would be away all summer, throwing her for a loop. "I didn't realize this was the plan and I wasn't paid all summer. I get the majority of my income from them and found it a real struggle for a couple of months," she said. Now that the current school year — her third with this particular family — is drawing to a close, the OP is anxious about her financial situation. The family has already informed her that her last lesson will be in a couple of weeks — "much earlier than I expected," the OP said. "This will leave me without pay for 3 months, which will set me back a lot," she continued, before explaining why adding new clients to her roster to cover the gap isn't feasible. "I'm unable to commit to other families who have asked for tutoring as they would want all the time, not just in the holidays." Her solution? To ask the third family to help her out — but she's not sure it's the right move. "Would it be cheeky to put this to the father and ask if there's any way they can pay me over the holidays and explain the situation?" she wrote. "I enjoy working with this family and would rather stay with them if possible, I know that I'm valued there, as the mom has told me in the past that they're keen to keep me/continue with me," she added. In the comments section, a lot readers shared the opinion that it would be wrong of the OP to make such a request of her employer, pointing out that her situation is the reality of being "self-employed." They argued that she should be budgeting her money better throughout the year to cover this window of time when she has less money coming in. "YABU [you are being unreasonable]. That is the nature of self-employed work. You need to plan for the times when you won't be working, not just ask your customers to pay you for nothing," one person wrote. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I think this is probably something you should have discussed with them prior to starting," another reader pointed out. "If they haven't previously paid over the holidays or paid a retainer, I would imagine they will not be happy to start now." Many people advised the OP that, going forward, she should negotiate full-year contracts with her tutoring clients or raise her rate to compensate for the summer downtime. "In future, price accordingly, assuming that you won't be needed for the holidays. Incorporate your holiday 'pay' into the usual fee and set some money aside," one suggested, while another threw out the idea of asking for "a retainer" from the family to keep their slot for the upcoming school year. Others wondered why someone working as a tutor would even expect that her services would be needed during a time when kids are on an extended break from school. "If the child is finishing exams in a couple of weeks, I'm not sure why you'd think you'd be needed throughout summer. They won't have anything to study for and will be taking a well-earned break," one person pointed out. Several people also suggested some ways the OP could supplement her income over the summer, such as waitressing jobs, proctoring exams or offering "summer catch-up sessions" for clients. Read the original article on People
South China Morning Post
29-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong tutor cleared of sexually assaulting child who was deemed not credible
A Hong Kong court has cleared a private tutor of sexually assaulting his neighbour's daughter after finding the complainant did not reveal the whole truth during the trial. Advertisement The District Court on Thursday also highlighted the child's 'extremely evasive and vague' evidence concerning the alleged incidents at her Kwai Chung flat in acquitting Wong Chak-pang of two counts of indecent assault. The 32-year-old defendant stood accused of molesting the girl, now 13, on two unspecified dates between January 2017 and January 2022. The trial heard Wong, who was living at the same building as the girl, had been invited to take care of her and her elder brother since 2017 after their mothers became friends. He would cook for the siblings, tidy up their flat and help them with homework. The girl claimed Wong first assaulted her while she was bathing before she was eight. She said the defendant molested her a second time inside her bedroom when she was between eight and nine years old. Advertisement Upon his arrest in April 2023, he admitted touching the girl while playing together, but denied watching her in the bath or committing any obscene acts.
