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

A former physical education (PE) teacher at a secondary school in Singapore, who committed sexual acts on his student when she was a minor, was sentenced on Sep. 16 to 16 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

An earlier report mentioned that the man had pursued the student romantically when she was between 14 and 15 years old.

The Straits Times (ST) previously reported that the 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor on Jul. 23.

Another 12 sexual offence charges were taken into consideration during sentencing, according to ST.

At the time, the man paused for a while and "heaved a sigh" before replying that he admitted to the statement of facts read out in court by the prosecution, ST noted.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 18.

The man taught the victim in 2022. They later followed each other on Instagram.

According to ST, the man began professing his romantic feelings for her and repeatedly asked her to be his girlfriend.

Knowing it was wrong to be in a relationship with a teacher, the girl said that she needed time to think about it.

However, the man insisted that it was not wrong as long as it did not affect her studies, despite their 28-year age gap.

The girl eventually became convinced that it was acceptable for them to be in a romantic relationship.

On Aug. 29, the girl told the man that she felt guilty for making him wait and was willing to be in a relationship with him, ST reported.

The relationship eventually culminated in sexual acts.

On Sep. 11, 2022, the pair met at a hotel where the man carried out various sex acts on her.

He also repeatedly asked her to carry out a sex act on him until she agreed to do so.

On Jan. 29, the girl ended the relationship after feeling that the man was becoming very possessive. According to ST, he cried and threatened to pull out all his hair.

He also texted the victim's friends to find out if she was seeing anyone.

One of the victim's friends eventually told school officials after finding out that she had been in a relationship with the man.

During questioning, he admitted to "heavy petting" but did not mention sexual penetration. He also deleted their Telegram messages.

The man was later arrested after the school informed the victim's parents, and they reported him to the police.

High Court Judge Kwek Mean Luck agreed with the prosecution that the man's offences were premeditated.

Pointing out that he took steps to convince the girl to "hang out" in a hotel room, the judge said the man caressed the girl.

He then made another five bookings over the next three months for more hotel rooms, ST reported.

Kwek said: "He exploited these opportunities alone with the victim to commit numerous sexual offences against her."

The judge was also of the view that the man entered and left the hotel rooms separately as one of the ways to conceal his offences.