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Shaffiq Alkhatib
The times of the strait
November 9, 2020
A teacher from one of the best schools in Singapore entered into a relationship with a student and committed indecent acts on her at her workplace.
On one occasion, he slipped his hand under her apron and touched her private parts. On another occasion, he pressed his body against hers and said, “Now I can do anything.”
The crimes occurred in 2011, when she was 15 and he was 36.
The Singaporean man, now 46, pleaded guilty in district court on Monday (November 9) to two counts under the Children and Youth Act. During sentencing, two other charges will be considered under the same law.
Details about the offender and the school cannot be released due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 24 years old.
The court heard that the victim returned to school in 2014 as an assistant teacher and began showing signs of an eating disorder.
In 2016, the man dropped out of school and about two years later, the victim told a teacher about the relationship and a police report was made in October 2018.
The court documents do not say why he decided to break his silence.
On Monday, Assistant Prosecutor Asoka Markandu told the court that the man joined the school in 2009 and met the victim when he taught her the following year.
The assailant was also the teacher in charge of a co-curricular activity and she was its student leader.
The man and the girl began to share details about their personal lives in September 2010. They would meet after lessons in or out of school for coffee.
They also communicated through text messages. The man was on vacation in London in December 2010 when they stated they missed each other.
“The victim understood from the conversation that the defendant wanted her to treat him as a partner. When the defendant and the victim returned to the school in January 2011, they began to meet more frequently at the school,” DPP Asoka said.
“The accused and the victim were supporting each other because of their emotional problems. At the end of February 2011, they were in a relationship and held hands when they were alone at school.”
Sometime between March and May 2011, when they were alone in a school room, he grabbed her wrists, held her against a wall, pressed his body against hers, and said, “Now I can do anything.” .
He released her about 15 seconds later, the court heard.
The DPP said: “The victim recalled feeling confused and embarrassed by the defendant’s actions. The victim did not react or say anything in response to the defendant’s verbal statement.”
They were in the room another time when he touched her private parts, taking her by surprise, the DPP added.
They separated shortly after the school holidays in June 2011 when he told her the relationship was over. But they continued to keep in touch with each other.
The victim returned to school in 2014 as an assistant teacher for six months, during which time she developed an eating disorder. They finally ceased all communication in November 2016.
In August 2018, she told a school teacher about her relationship with the man.
The teacher spoke with the assistant principal of the school, who alerted his principal. The director made a police report on October 2, 2018.
The man is now out on $ 10,000 bail and the case has been postponed to December 8.
For each count under the Children and Adolescents Act, an offender can be imprisoned for up to two years and fined a maximum of $ 5,000.
In response to inquiries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said the man was no longer working for him when the incident was reported in 2018.
Its spokesperson added: “The Ministry of Education takes 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.”
