Advertisement

Teacher pleads guilty to affair with 14-year-old student

A 41-year-old male teacher has admitted to the district court on Friday that he had a sexual relationship with his female student, who was just 14 years old when their affair began.
 
According to TODAY, the former secondary school teacher who was 38 when he seduced his student, was the teacher-in-charge for the Robotics club which the girl joined in 2006.
 
The married father - who has since been sacked by the Education Ministry - had asked the girl to be his girlfriend, showering her with presents during school trips together to South Korea, reported the paper.
 
The pair then had sex for the first time in the school's co-curricular activity room. Over a two-year duration, they had sex on more than 15 occasions.
 
The district court also heard that he did not use a condom in most of these trysts.
 
Deputy public prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy, who sought a jail term of between seven and 10 years, said that "it was entirely fortuitous that the girl did not get pregnant".
 
TODAY also said that the man's wife only found out about the illicit relationship in January last year, when she saw text exchanges between her husband and the teenager.
 
The ex-teacher, who also headed the design and technology department of the school - will be sentenced on 17 Jan. If convicted, he could be jailed up to 10 years, fined or both.
 
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, psychologist Daniel Koh said there could be many reasons behind the man's actions.
 
"Sometimes it is a case of compensation and replacement- they want to get what they cannot get in their current relationship. They are tired of routine and want to seek something more thrilling and fresh.
 
"Sometimes, it could be due to power and control- the fulfillment gained from manipulating a younger person. It could also be proximity and time spent together," said Koh.
 
Meanwhile, parents of teenaged daughters such as Madam Kim Leow told Yahoo! Singapore that punishment must be harsh to serve as a deterrent.
 
Said the housewife with a 18-year-old daughter: "This is very alarming. You are talking about a person who is a trusted figure of authority, a very young girl, and the affair happened in school. This man cannot be let off easily.
 
"This is also a reminder to teachers, parents- to observe their students or children for tell-tale signs before something as serious as this happens."