Teacher on trial for molesting pupil

A primary school teacher accused of molesting four male pupils is claiming that his statements to the police during investigations had not been made voluntarily.

The trial of the 33-year-old began on Monday over two of the eight charges he faces. The two charges involve the same boy, who was 12 then. He was part of a uniformed group in which the accused was a teacher-in-charge.

In March last year, when he was preparing the group of Primary 6 boys for a competition, he gave the pupil make-up training - at the teacher's workstation in the school staffroom - on how to tie knots. That was when the teacher allegedly hugged and kissed the pupil, now 13.

The same thing allegedly happened about two weeks later in an equipment storeroom, after the two and another pupil went shopping for competition supplies.

After going back to school to pack the purchases, he allegedly again hugged and kissed the boy while they were fetching other items from the storeroom.

The punishment for outraging the modesty of someone under the age of 14 is a jail term of up to five years, a fine or caning, or any combination of the sentences.

The man, who has been interdicted from his duties in the school, is also accused of hugging and kissing the other three boys, and touching the genitals of one of them, between 2011 and last year.

The bachelor, who is understood to be a mother tongue teacher at the school in the west, cannot be named to protect the identities of his alleged victims, who were then aged between 10 and 12.

pohian@sph.com.sg

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