RV principal 'linked to woman' in education industry: reports

[UPDATED on 21 Dec]

The former principal of a top secondary school here is reportedly being investigated by the country's government corruption agency for his alleged links with a woman.

According to local tabloid Lianhe Wanbao, the woman whom River Valley High School (RVHS) principal Steven Koh Yong Chiah is believed to have been involved with runs several companies providing education-related services, including consultancy and organising overseas trips.

The Mandarin paper also reported that former teachers from Hwa Chong Institution (then known as The Chinese High School), where Koh was principal between 1999 and 2002, were questioned at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for more than 10 hours on Koh's relationship with the woman. She is in turn reportedly believed to be married to a foreigner.

Shin Min Daily News quoted Koh as saying that he had "nothing to be worried about", albeit adding that he was at first taken aback when summoned by CPIB for its investigation.

"I thought, why are they looking for me?" he reportedly said. "But I have nothing to be worried about."

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement that Koh would be replaced Thursday and posted to another role at MOE’s headquarters.

It did not give further details on the case, however. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has also yet to offer comment on the matter, although it told local media that Koh is assisting it in a probe.

The 58-year-old started out teaching at The Catholic High School in 1981, and first became principal of Kranji Secondary School five years later. He then spent three years as the principal of the then-Chinese High from 1999, after which he served as principal of Jurong Junior College for about seven years before becoming RVHS’s principal in 2009.

When asked, one alumnus who attended The Chinese High School while Koh was principal there told Yahoo! Singapore that although Koh was quite the disciplinarian, he was nonetheless a good principal while at The Chinese High.

"He's generally likeable, (but) very firm on discipline," he said, adding that he frequently recited Chinese idioms and poems during school assembly.

The alumnus, who declined to be named, said he heard from friends at River Valley that Koh once made a couple in the latter school sign a binding document agreeing to break up after being caught holding hands in public.

He also shared that under Koh's charge, RVHS tended to be "quite obsessed with cutting costs".

"They substituted Pentel markers for cheap China-made ones that ran out of ink after one day," he said. "I thought that was ridiculous and eco-unfriendly."

An alumna of RVHS who graduated from its through-train programme in 2010 told Yahoo! Singapore of Koh's commitment to his job at the school, however, saying he always strove to improve school life for his students.

"Mr Koh tries very hard to make the school better for his students," she said. "He's even told us before that he keeps a notebook at his bedside so whenever he thinks of ideas for the school, he jots them down immediately and then go back to sleep!"

Local daily TODAY reported that Koh was a pioneer in securing commercial tie-ups with private companies. These included the use of iPads in classrooms, and more notably the establishment of the River Valley Badminton Academy last year, in collaboration with Chinese sportswear maker Li-Ning.

The latter tie-up reportedly resulted in school physical education T-shirts bearing the company’s logo, and sports equipment advertisements appearing around the campus.

Incidentally, The Straits Times on Thursday reported that Li-Ning will be closing its regional headquarters based in Singapore by the end of this year, citing cost reduction and fierce competition as reasons.

According to the ministry, Koh is being replaced by 54-year-old Teo Khin Hiang, MOE’s deputy director of its programme coordination office. Teo previously was principal of the Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the Arts, and was cluster superintendent and principal of Chua Chu Kang Secondary, Pasir Ris Crest Secondary and Commonwealth Secondary.

Meanwhile, Koh will be re-deployed to take up the role of principal for social projects at the MOE, and will be involved in curriculum development.