Ex-principal pleads guilty to molesting seven schoolboys with disciplinary issues

• The principal called the boys into his office on the pretext of discussing their disciplinary issues
• One victim kept mum because he feared that no one would believe him, given his disciplinary record
• The principal touched the boys on their arms and thighs before moving to other acts

SINGAPORE — A secondary school principal targeted teenage boys with disciplinary issues, using his position of influence to molest them when they were alone in his office.

On Friday (Aug 28), the 48-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty to three charges of outrage of modesty. He initially planned to contest the charges. 

His seven victims were aged 13 to 15 when he committed the offences in 2017.

He cannot be named to protect their identities and has not worked for the Ministry of Education (MOE) since January 2018.

The secondary school, located in the northeastern region of Singapore, cannot be named either.

Eight other molestation charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing, which is set for Oct 6. 

The former principal, represented by lawyer Gurdip Singh, remains out on S$15,000 bail.

WHAT HE DID BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

The principal molested the students between August and October 2017.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Yeo told the court that the teenagers were all “at-risk youth who faced problems within their families or had disciplinary records with the school or outside of school”. 

The school’s operations manager often called the teenagers to the general office to serve detention or receive counselling, or to mete out disciplinary actions against them. No further details were given about what they did.  

When the principal noticed a student near the operations manager’s desk, he would call the student into his office.

The principal sometimes told the boys’ teachers that he wanted to speak to them, before fixing a suitable time for them to meet at his office on the pretext of discussing their disciplinary issues.

He closed the office door, made the boys sit with their backs facing the door, and touched them on their arms and thighs while talking to them.

He then moved to other acts, such as poking them at their groin area and placing his hands in their shorts.

One victim, then 14, was shocked and told the principal he was uncomfortable with his behaviour. 

The principal told him to return to class and said he would see him again if he needed to speak to him. He ended up molesting the boy on two other occasions.

The boy did not want to report the matter because he felt the principal helped him significantly when he was in Secondary 1. The principal allowed him to move up to Secondary 2 despite not having the requisite grades.

He reported the matter to the authorities only when the police began investigating the principal.

A second victim was molested after the end-of-year school examinations. He was serving his detention when the principal called him into his office.

He told the boy not to continue on his current path lest he end up at Boys’ Town, a non-profit shelter for children and youth in need.

While talking, he stroked the boy’s arm and lap. The principal then asked the boy whether he was embroiled in police cases. 

When the boy said that he was involved in a rioting case, the principal chided and molested him. 

Feeling uncomfortable, the boy made up an excuse and left the office.

A third victim did not immediately tell anyone about the molestation because he felt that no one would believe him, given his own disciplinary issues.

Towards the end of October 2017, two victims reported the matter to the school’s operations manager.

On Nov 6, 2017, an MOE officer filed a police report about the principal.

For each charge of molesting a minor under 14, the former principal could be jailed up to five years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three. 

For each charge of molesting those aged 14 or older, he could be put behind bars for up to two years, fined, caned, or punished with any combination of the three.