Former teacher gets jail for molesting Primary 1 girl

SINGAPORE:  A former teacher was sentenced to jail on Monday (Jan 22) for molesting his student while she was sitting on his lap for a game as part of a class.

The 55-year-old Singaporean man was given 16 months' jail for one count of molesting a minor and another 45 days' imprisonment in lieu of caning as he is too old to be caned under the law.

The man, as well as the victim, the school and other related details, cannot be named due to gag orders imposed by the court meant to protect the victim's identity.

The court heard that the man joined the Ministry of Education in 1993 and was posted to teach at the victim's primary school in 2005.

He taught several subjects and became a physical education (PE) teacher in 2008 to students between Primary 1 and 6.

In 2015, the victim was about six to seven and she was in Primary 1. The offender was her PE teacher.

Sometime that year, the victim attended a theory class for PE in a classroom at the school.

The teacher set up a laptop at the front of the classroom and called students to the front one by one, asking them to sit on his lap and play a game on the laptop.

When it was the victim's turn, she went forward and sat on the teacher's lap, wanting to play the game.

The teacher molested her while she was on his lap.

The girl felt "very disgusted, scared and embarrassed" whenever she thought about what happened.

GIRL ATTENDS SEX ED CLASS

However, the incident went unreported for several years. In 2020, the girl attended a sexual education class and recalled the incident, realising that the teacher's actions were wrong.

She sent a message on Instagram to the teacher in charge of discipline at the school on Mar 18, 2021, telling him what happened in 2015.

The victim also expressed concern that her younger sister was in Primary 1, and that the accused was one of the latter's teachers.

Subsequently, the case was flagged and the accused was confronted with the victim's allegations. He admitted to molesting several female students in the manner described by the victim.

He admitted that he had chosen to molest younger female students in lower primary as he felt the older girls would know that what he did was wrong, and he did not want to be discovered.

Defence lawyers from Drew & Napier, led by Mr Wendell Wong, pointed out that the touch was over clothes and brief.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap asked for twenty-one-and-a-half to twenty-five-and-a-half months' jail, including extra jail time in lieu of caning.

Ms Yap stressed the young age of the victim, at six to seven years old, as well as the offender's "serious abuse of position and breach of trust".

In sentencing, the judge agreed for a start with the defence on the placing of the case within a sentencing framework as there was no skin-to-skin contact and the contact was not prolonged.

However, she pointed out the "significant aggravating factors" of the case, including the very young age of the victim.

"Every year at that point in a child's life is a significant milestone in terms of levels of maturity and vulnerability as well," said District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam.

She added that the "stage was set" for the offence to be committed, including the setting up of a game to distract the child.

She granted the defence's request for the man to begin his jail term on Feb 13, after spending "the season" with his family.

In a statement to CNA on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said the offender had been suspended since April 2021 and is no longer teaching in any school.

"MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service."