Music teacher molests student while correcting her cello position
SINGAPORE — Alone with a student in a classroom and under the guise of correcting her cello position, a music school teacher molested her, a court heard.
Assuming it was accidental, the 18-year-old female student didn’t think much about it.
Emboldened, the 33-year-old teacher groped her again the next week using the same ruse. This time, he placed his hand into her shirt and into her bra, before touching her thigh.
At the State Courts on Thursday (April 18), the music teacher, who is from the Philippines, was found guilty after a five-day trial on four charges of molestation.
The teacher, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, will be sentenced at a later date.
Used ruse of correcting cello position
On 25 June 2016, the student went to her cello class as normal. Towards the end of the class, her teacher said her cello was not placed correctly against her body.
The teacher then let the cello lean on his hand and he touched the student’s chest for about a minute. Although she felt it was weird, she thought it was part of the teaching process.
The next week, on 2 July 2016, the teacher helped the student to tune her cello and asked her to play a tune. He then corrected her on the proper handling of the music instrument, placing his hand between the cello and her chest area.
But his hands gravitated underneath her shirt and her bra.
Later, the teacher asked the student to sit on the same chair as him, in between his legs. He then touched her right inner thigh.
Again, the teacher molested the student underneath her bra, before asking her if he could unhook the bra. When she asked why he wanted to do that, he said “never mind” and went back to his own chair.
On the pretext of going to the toilet, the student excused herself and left the classroom. But her ordeal wasn’t over, as the class had not ended. Back in the classroom, the teacher once more placed his hand on her chest.
The teacher, who is no longer with the school, faces up to two years jail, along with a fine and caning, for each of his four charges.
More Singapore stories:
Elderly man dies after choking on food at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital
Tampines Mall evacuated after fire breaks out at food fair; man conveyed to hospital
Singapore ranks 151st in 2019 World Press Freedom Index, unchanged since 2017
