Tuition teacher admits to molesting student after classes
SINGAPORE — He was a tuition teacher who would ask a female secondary school student to stay back in his home after classes but it was merely a pretext to molest her.
He molested the 15-year-old girl on several occasions but the victim was too afraid to tell anyone about her ordeal.
On Monday (17 June), the tuition teacher, 48, was convicted of molesting a female secondary school student.
The Indonesian national and Singapore permanent resident pleaded guilty to three counts of molesting the girl. Two other similar offences will be taken into consideration for his sentencing, which will be heard next month.
The court heard that the man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, would give tuition to groups of students in a room in his house.
The victim attended three sessions of tuition each week, each lasting about two hours.
Between February and March last year, the man would ask her to stay back after class to complete her homework but he ended up molesting her on at least five occasions.
After the other students left, the man would slide his hand beneath the victim’s shirt, school uniform and bra to rub her body. Once, he hugged and kissed her on the lips.
The victim would felt “uncomfortable, shocked and speechless” but she feared speaking up and did not know how to react , said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Delicia Tan.
On 9 March, the victim confided in a friend through WhatsApp and recounted that the man had become more brazen in his acts.
The victim’s friend then informed her school, which in turn contacted the victim’s mother on 11 March. The mother brought the victim to lodge a police report on 12 March.
DPP Tan is seeking 25 months' jail and two strokes of the case on each proceeded charge. Chua Eng Hui, the man’s lawyer, is asking for one stroke of the cane per charge, saying that his client was remorseful.
District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim adjourned the matter for the prosecution to obtain a victim impact statement ahead of sentencing. The statement, given by the victim, would state the psychological harms she has sustained from the incident.
For each count of molest, the man faces a jail term of up to two years, or a fine, or caning, or any combination of the punishments.
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