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SINGAPORE – Under the pretext of discussing disciplinary matters with his male students, a high school principal pinched their genitals in his office.
The 48-year-old Singaporean had his way with his actions against children, ages 12 to 15, until a victim trusted another victim. Both of them then reported the matter to the school’s Operations Manager on October 25, 2017 after realizing they went through similar experiences.
The director pleaded guilty on Friday (August 28) to three counts of sexually abusing three children, two of whom were under the age of 14, and the remaining eight counts were taken into consideration for sentencing.
All the victims, and the principal, as well as the school, cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims.
The court heard that the victims targeted by the principal were at-risk youth who faced family problems or had disciplinary records in or out of school. Often the school’s Operations Manager would call them to the General Office to serve their detention, advise them, or inform them of disciplinary measures.
The crimes occurred between August and October 2017.
Whenever the principal noticed a student at the Operations Manager’s desk, he would call the student to his room for a private conversation. On occasion, the principal also informed the students’ teachers of his intention to speak with them and to set a time to meet with them in his office, supposedly to discuss disciplinary matters.
During their private meetings, the principal made the student sit with his back to the closed door, which had a glass pane. While conversing with them, the director began to touch their limbs and progressed to pinching or pinching their groin. He also rubbed her breasts over their shirts and inserted his hand into her shorts to touch her genitals.
One victim, then 14 years old, told the principal that he was uncomfortable with the acts and was told to return to class. The victim was hesitant to report the matter as she felt the principal had “helped him significantly when he was in Secondary 1” as the man had allowed him to move up the following year even though he did not obtain the required qualifications. The boy felt that he could not betray the man. He only revealed the abuse during investigations.
The principal told another victim that he might end up in Boys Town and pinched the boy’s genitals while berating him for being involved in a riot issue. The boy finally excused himself to escape the room.
One child did not disclose the abuse because he feared that no one would believe him, given his disciplinary problems.
After the crime came to light through two of the victims, internal investigations were carried out and the Ministry of Education was informed. A police report was filed on November 6, 2017. Incidents followed against five other victims.
The director is expected to be sentenced on October 6. His attorney informed the court that his client has a medical appointment to evaluate a spinal condition, which may affect whether he is spanked.
For sexually abusing a person under the age of 14, the director can be imprisoned for up to five years, fined or punished. For abuse, he faces a jail term of up to two years, with fine or punishment.
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