A 41-year-old former teacher was convicted on Tuesday (Apr 28) of sexually grooming a teenage student and committing multiple indecent acts against her.
In delivering the verdict, the court found that the victim was a credible witness whose testimony was clear, consistent and supported by objective evidence, including text messages exchanged between her and the accused. In contrast, the man’s account was described as unreliable, unworthy of credit and “riddled with afterthoughts” and contradictions.
The judge also rejected several of the accused’s explanations as “incredible”, including his claim that references to hugs and kisses in his messages were merely “virtual” or “verbal” gestures such as “air kisses”.
Gag orders were imposed to protect the identities of the victim, the accused and their school.
The man was convicted of three counts of committing an indecent act with a minor and one count of sexual grooming of a minor.
Case details
As per the Channel News Asia report, the offences took place in 2022 when the victim was between 13 and 14 years old and studying in Secondary 2. The teacher met her frequently that year, initially under the pretext of helping with schoolwork. During these meetings, he engaged in physical contact such as patting her head and touching her hands.
From September 2022 to January 2023, the pair met often and exchanged frequent messages, sometimes late into the night.
It was not disputed that school personnel warned the teacher in November 2022 after the girl began calling him “daddy”, instructing him to keep his distance. However, he continued interacting with her and suggested moving their conversations to Instagram’s vanishing mode, which leaves no message history.
In late November 2022, the teacher drove the girl to the upper level of a multi-storey car park, where they remained in the car for more than 90 minutes. The defence did not dispute that the meeting took place.
The girl testified that during this encounter, she sat on his lap in the back seat while he hugged and kissed her and stroked her thigh.
The court examined multiple messages between the pair. In one exchange, the accused referred to a saying that fathers and daughters were lovers in a past life and asked the girl whether she was still his love from a past life.
He also told her she was his “favourite person” and said that his wife, friends, parents, and sister would have to “queue behind her”.
The judge said these were not the expressions of a teacher or mentor, but instead showed a “deliberate and calculated effort” to cultivate emotional intimacy with romantic undertones.
In other messages, the accused referred to hugs and kisses exchanged with the girl. The court noted that he later attempted to describe them as “virtual” or “verbal”, a claim the judge said “defied logic and beggared belief”.
The court also pointed to messages where the accused acknowledged physical contact, including references to the girl hugging him and kissing him multiple times.
Arguments in court
The prosecution argued that the man carried out a series of calculated grooming acts, deliberately building a pseudo father-daughter relationship to gain the victim’s trust before committing indecent acts.
The defence denied the allegations. The accused claimed he had only exchanged “virtual” or “verbal” hugs and kisses with the victim and that any physical contact involved using objects such as a pen, pencil, ruler or paper.
He also claimed he had “reluctantly” allowed the girl to call him “daddy” and used terms like “daughter” and other endearments to avoid upsetting her. Compliments about her appearance, he said, were meant to boost her confidence and self-esteem.
The defence further argued that the victim fabricated the allegations out of jealousy because the teacher had paid attention to another student. It also contended that her failure to report the incidents earlier and her willingness to seek out the teacher were inconsistent with claims of abuse.
Court’s findings
The judge rejected the defence’s arguments entirely, stating that the victim’s behaviour was consistent with someone being groomed, as she may not have realised she was being exploited at the time.
The court noted that the victim’s testimony withstood cross-examination and was corroborated by evidence, including messages in which the accused admitted to physical contact such as holding her hand, touching her face and cheek.
An eyewitness also testified to seeing the pair touch and caress each other during meetings related to a school event.
The judge found that many of the accused’s claims were raised only during the trial and were absent from earlier defence filings. Some directly contradicted agreed facts, including his claim that he used objects to touch the victim.
His assertion that references to hugs and kisses were non-physical was also never put to the victim during the trial and contradicted by his own messages. In one exchange, he mentioned the girl “hugging me today”, while she described a hug that lasted “so long and so tight”. In another, he counted four instances of her kissing him in a single day.
The judge said his attempt to reinterpret these as “virtual” interactions “defied logic and beggared belief”.
“Beyond the question of credibility, the content of the accused’s messages shed considerable light on his true intentions,” the judge said.
In one message, the man referred to a saying that fathers and daughters were lovers in a past life and asked if she was still his love. In another, he told her she was his “favourite person”, saying even his wife, family and friends would “queue behind her”.
“These were not expressions of a teacher or a mentor,” the judge said, adding that they showed a deliberate effort to cultivate emotional intimacy with romantic undertones and indicated a clear intent to groom the victim.
The judge concluded that the accused’s account had been tailored as the trial progressed and that the prosecution had proven all charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Sentencing
The case has been adjourned to June for mitigation and sentencing.
For each count of committing an indecent act with a minor, the man faces up to five years in jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both. For sexual grooming of a minor, he faces up to three years’ jail, a fine, or both.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education previously said the man had been suspended in October 2023 and is no longer teaching.
“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,” the spokesperson said according to CNA.
Image via google
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