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NTU graduate arrested for allegedly molesting teenage boy during ‘research project’

Photo: Nanyang Technological University Facebook page
Photo: Nanyang Technological University Facebook page

A 25-year-old Nanyang Technological University (NTU) graduate student has been arrested for allegedly molesting a teenage boy under the pretense of conducting a “body stimulation” research project.

The police confirmed a report was lodged and a man was arrested for outrage of modesty. Police investigations are ongoing. Yahoo News Singapore understands the arrest happened on Saturday (20 January).

According to an article by The Nanyang Chronicle, which first reported about the case, the 17-year-old victim had been misled into believing that he was meeting the man to participate in the study after he responded to an online advertisement.

The victim was brought to a graduate dormitory room, where he was instructed to take a shower and come out naked. He was molested while he was blindfolded and restrained to a bed. The incident allegedly happened on 13 November last year.

The Chronicle found several versions of the advertisement seeking participants for the study on websites such as Craigslist, Gumtree and Locanto. The telephone contact details of the supposed NTU researcher behind the study were found in the advertisements.

The advertisements, which have since expired or been taken down, called for students in secondary school through university to take part in the study, according to the Chronicle. They specified “light sensation touches” and “light restrain(t)s” will be applied during the study.

Participants were informed they would be paid up to $25 an hour. The advertisement on Craigslist promised an additional $10 per session for male participants below 16 years old.

When the Chronicle contacted a man through the mobile number, he claimed that he did not know who placed the advertisements, and that the number had been listed without his knowledge.

The victim was allegedly restrained for two hours and dared not protest as the man was “a big guy”, according to the Chronicle. He alleged that the man began stimulating his penis after tickling him for an hour. The man paid the victim $55 to masturbate.

NTU’s Institutional Review Board, which is responsible for approving in-house research studies involving human subjects, confirmed to the Chronicle that no such study on body stimulation was found in its database.

An NTU spokesman told the Chronicle, “The University views academic and research misconduct as serious disciplinary offences. We are aware that the police is investigating this case, and we are assisting them in their investigations.”

Related story:

How did a ‘body stimulation’ project in an NTU dorm go so wrong?