Ex-PE teacher, 45, in S'pore performed sex acts on student, then-14, in hotel, gets 16 years' jail & caning

A former secondary school physical education teacher in Singapore was sentenced on September 16 to 16 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for performing sexual acts on a then 14-year-old student. The man, 45 at the time, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor, with 12 additional sexual offense charges taken into account during sentencing.

The victim, now 18, had been taught by the teacher in 2022 and later followed each other on Instagram. The man began professing romantic feelings for her, repeatedly asking her to be his girlfriend despite the 28-year age gap. Initially, the girl hesitated, fearing the consequences of being in a relationship with a teacher, but eventually agreed to be in a relationship after feeling guilty for making the man wait.

On August 29, 2022, the pair met at a hotel where the man carried out various sexual acts on her. He also repeatedly asked her to perform a sexual act on him, and she eventually agreed. The relationship ended on January 29, 2023, when the girl felt the man was becoming too possessive. He responded by crying and threatening to pull out all his hair, as well as sending text messages to her friends to find out if she was seeing anyone.

Following the girl's report to her school, the man was arrested after the school informed her parents, who in turn reported him to the police. Judge Kwek Mean Luck agreed with the prosecution's assessment that the man's offenses were premeditated, noting that he took steps to convince the girl to spend time with him in hotel rooms. Kwek also stated that the man entered and left the hotel rooms separately to conceal his offenses.