Ex-teacher jailed for underage sex

A former junior college teacher was jailed for 25 months yesterday for having sex with a minor.

Tan Sze Aik, 37, was convicted on three charges - two under the Children and Young Persons Act and one of sexual penetration of a minor.

The physics teacher committed the offences in December 2012 when the boy was only 14. He invited the minor to his Bishan flat after befriending him on Facebook about a month earlier by introducing himself as 19-year-old "Shawn".

At around midnight on Dec 3, Tan hugged the boy and kissed him on his bed. After they undressed, Tan committed the offences.

The boy later revealed the incident to a police officer he had befriended.

'Alarming'

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz asked the court for a deterrent sentence as this was "one of an alarming number of recent cases involving adults who engage in sexual activity with troubled, misguided young persons shortly after befriending them over the Internet".

In mitigation, Tan's lawyer said "the acts occurred in the heat of the moment without any premeditation". Tan was also a first offender.

District Judge Siva Shanmugam said: "Young and vulnerable victims need to be protected from sexual exploitation, regardless of whether the sexual acts were consensual...

"The accused's unscrupulous and effective use of the Internet in befriending and exploiting the minor is yet another setback to the safety and security of young persons using the Internet."

-Zaihan Mohamed Yusof

This article was first published on July 16, 2014.
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