A former physical education teacher in Singapore has been sentenced to 16 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane after sexually exploiting a student who was 14 when the offences began.
The 45-year-old man, who cannot be named because of a court gag order protecting the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor. Another 12 charges involving sexual offences against the same victim were taken into consideration during sentencing on Sept. 16, 2026.
Teacher groomed student through online messages
The offences began in 2022, when the man had about 18 years of teaching experience and was the girl’s PE teacher.
According to court proceedings, the two followed each other on Instagram and began communicating about books and writing, interests the girl enjoyed. Their conversations later moved to Telegram, where the teacher sometimes instructed her to delete messages.
In July 2022, he told the student he had romantic feelings for her and repeatedly asked her to become his girlfriend.
When she expressed concern about their 28-year age gap, he told her that age was not an issue and suggested that a teacher-student relationship would be acceptable provided it did not interfere with her studies.
He initially suggested meeting at his home, but she declined. He then proposed meeting in a hotel room to read, watch television or spend time together.
Multiple hotel meetings followed
On Aug. 28, 2022, the teacher booked a hotel room and met the student there. The two entered the room separately and remained there for about five hours.
The court heard that he subsequently made five more hotel bookings over the following three months.
High Court Judge Kwek Mean Luck agreed with prosecutors that the offences were premeditated. The judge said the teacher exploited opportunities to be alone with the victim and also attempted to conceal his conduct by entering and leaving hotel rooms separately.
The teacher also used affectionate names for the girl and frequently discussed sexual matters with her.
The victim eventually became convinced that the relationship was acceptable. The court heard that sexual offences occurred during multiple hotel meetings.
Offences continued during school camp
In January 2023, while the victim was attending a school camp, the teacher contacted her and asked her to meet him.
The two went into a room at the school, where he sexually assaulted her. The victim became frightened that they would be discovered, and they subsequently left.
Later that month, on Jan. 29, she ended the relationship because she felt he had become increasingly possessive.
The court heard that the teacher was jealous of her male friends and had even discussed marrying her.
Friend alerted school after breakup
The teacher reacted badly to the breakup, including making threats to harm himself.
He also tried to find out through one of the girl’s friends whether she was seeing someone else.
The friend reported the situation to a teacher on Feb. 7, 2023.
When confronted, the former teacher admitted to engaging in sexualised physical contact with the student but did not initially disclose the penetrative offences. He also deleted messages between himself and the victim.
The school informed the girl’s parents, who made a police report on Feb. 9.
During investigations, the man admitted to the sexual acts.
Court finds offences were premeditated
In sentencing, Justice Kwek agreed with the prosecution that the offences were premeditated.
The judge’s findings included the teacher’s repeated efforts to arrange private meetings with the student, his use of hotel rooms over several months and attempts to conceal the meetings.
The victim, who is now 18, is protected by a gag order, which also prevents the teacher from being identified in order to safeguard her identity.
Editorial accuracy note
The man was convicted after pleading guilty, so the article refers to him as a former teacher and describes the offences as established in court rather than as allegations. The victim was 14 when the offences began and is now 18. Her identity and the former teacher’s identity are protected by a gag order. The 16-year sentence and 12 strokes of the cane were imposed on Sept. 16, 2026.
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