Teacher admits committing indecent acts on boy while on 'dates'

SINGAPORE - A mother noticed a love bite on her 13-year-old son's neck.

When she asked him about it, he revealed that it was from a teacher at his primary school who was more than thrice his age.

On Wednesday, the 42-year-old teacher, who is seven years older than the boy's mother, pleaded guilty to committing indecent acts on the boy on a string of "dates".

A district court heard how he would play truant to join her on trips to the movies, Sentosa and the Botanic Gardens.

They had met in early 2012 when the boy was in Primary 6. He was in the same football team as the teacher's son. She also taught his two sisters Malay dance at the school, which is in the west of Singapore.

The boy and his sisters became friendly with the teacher and her four children, and he would also chat with her on Facebook.

One day in October that year, he set off for school in his uniform, but stopped to change before meeting the woman for breakfast at McDonald's in Nanyang Technological University.

After taking a bus to a nearby park, she kissed him on the lips and gave him a love bite on his shoulder. They then went to watch a movie at Clementi Mall before parting ways.

She kissed him again on a trip to the Botanic Gardens on Oct 31, and did the same again in Sentosa the following day. She also gave him another love bite on his shoulder.

Two weeks later, they kissed and she bit his neck at the Botanic Gardens. But the following day, his mother spotted the mark and the boy spilled the beans.

The parents informed the school and got their son to lodge a police report. The teacher was suspended and charged in court.

She cannot be named as it could lead to the identification of the minor.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Santhra Aiyyasamy asked for an appropriate jail sentence on Wednesday.

The maximum penalty for such offences is a $10,000 fine and a five-year jail term.

She said the teacher had built a relationship with the pupil and taken advantage of him when he played truant. "Sexual exploitation of such young victims is completely unacceptable," she added.

Defence counsel Peter Fernando asked the court to consider placing the teacher on probation instead. He said his client had been suffering from a major depressive disorder when she committed the offences, but she is now coping well with treatment.

The lawyer also said his client, who had been teaching the Malay language for 11 years, was unlikely to break the law again.

The teacher's husband and other family members were in court and tried to console her after the hearing. She will be sentenced on Feb 19.

khush@sph.com.sg