SINGAPORE — A secondary school teacher was sentenced to two years and two months’ jail on Tuesday (Dec 17) for molesting seven of his male charges over two years.

The 37-year-old man, who told his 14-year-old victims to be silent about the violations, was also given three strokes of the cane. 

He had pleaded guilty to three molestation charges in a district court earlier this month, with another six charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

The man was in charge of a uniformed group co-curricular activity (CCA) at the school. Neither he nor his victims can be named due to a court order to protect their identities. The names of the school and the CCA were similarly redacted from court documents.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) previously said that the man had been suspended since Sept 14, 2017, and is no longer teaching at any school. After the court ruling, it added that it will start internal disciplinary action against him. 

The court heard that the teacher committed his offences from 2015 to 2017.

In 2015, he offered one of his victims a ride home. During the journey, he asked the boy — who was sitting in the front passenger seat — if he watched pornography.

Before the boy could answer, the teacher clenched his fist and moved it up and down in a gesture that suggested an act of masturbation.

The victim replied that he did not watch pornography. The man kept silent, but then suddenly slid his hand into the boy’s shorts when they arrived outside his home.

He also touched the boy’s private parts over his underwear for about three seconds, before letting him alight.

In 2016, another 14-year-old boy was kneeling on the school’s gymnasium floor to clean it when he had to make up for a CCA session. 

The teacher then went over to the boy and suddenly hugged him from behind. Uncomfortable with this, the boy tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

Undeterred, the teacher pulled the boy’s pants and underwear forward. He then clutched the boy’s genitals for a few seconds before walking off.

The victim did not know what to do and the teacher told those who were present: “What happens here, stays in here.” The boy later quit the CCA.

The following year, the teacher preyed on another 14-year-old boy during a session in the gym.

As the victim was using an exercise roller, he went over and asked the boy how low he could position his body with the equipment.

He told the boy that he would support him if he could not lower himself any further, then placed his hand under the boy’s body.

When the victim lowered himself, he suddenly clutched the victim’s genitals over his shorts. He then laughed when the boy fell forwards in shock.

The school’s principal filed a police report on Sept 8, 2017. It was not stated how the offences came to light.

Court documents showed that in 2016 and 2017, he molested other boys by pinching their nipples and slapping their buttocks.

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