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SINGAPORE – A high school teacher allegedly sexually abused a boy in a laboratory at his workplace last year.
The sexual abuse case against the 31-year-old Singaporean man was heard in district court on Tuesday (October 6).
Details about him and the school cannot be released due to a gag order from the court to protect the teen’s identity.
The Ministry of Education (MOE), in a statement to The Straits Times on Wednesday, said the man had been suspended since October last year.
“The Ministry of Education has a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who do not meet our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service,” added its spokesperson.
The man is accused of hugging the boy from behind and kissing him on the cheeks.
His bond was set at $ 10,000 and the case was postponed until October 27.
He was not the first male teacher to appear in court in recent months on charges of sexually abusing children.
In August, a 35-year-old Singaporean sought trial after he allegedly sexually abused a 12-year-old boy three times in 2017.
The man, who was teaching at an elementary school, also cannot be identified due to a gag order.
He had been suspended from service since July 2017 and no longer teaches at any schools.
The man sought trial on three counts of sexual abuse.
Two other charges involving the same child, one of battery and showing him a pornographic video, will be addressed at a later stage.
According to court documents, the man allegedly assaulted the boy in April 2017 by grabbing his wrists and slapping his cheek.
He is accused of showing the child a pornographic video on a computer on June 15 of that year. He is also said to have sexually abused his alleged victim on two separate occasions that day.
The case against the 35-year-old teacher is still pending.
Offenders convicted of sexually abusing a child under the age of 14 can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined or punished for each count.
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