SINGAPORE: A tuition teacher molested three of his students while teaching them in their home, the youngest of whom was just eight years old.
Muhammad Nur Ikhlas Mohd Hashim, a 26-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty to three counts of molesting a person younger than 14 years old.
One of his two outrage of modesty charges that will be taken into consideration for sentencing involves a fourth victim, another eight-year-old boy, who the accused molested at a void deck in April 2021.
The court heard that the accused was a Singapore University of Social Sciences student at the time of the offences, and was working as a part-time tutor earning $2,000 to $3,000 a month.
In early 2021, Ikhlas was hired to tutor a 13-year-old student in science every Saturday at 5.30pm. The lessons took place in the student’s bedroom with the door closed.
In June 2021, the student was working on a question when the accused, who was sitting beside him, touched his genitals over his shorts for at least a minute.
The student did not know how to react and remained silent. The accused then continued to teach the victim before molesting him a second time.
The student did not report the incident and continued to have lessons with the accused until December 2022.
Ikhlas’ second victim was an eight-year-old boy. He started tutoring the boy in mathematics in October 2022 and the sessions were held in the Primary 2 student’s bedroom with the door left slightly ajar.
The boy’s mother would sit in the living room and look into the bedroom occasionally.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh said the boy addressed the accused as “Abang Ikhlas”, or brother Ikhlas in Malay, and they were on good terms.
After a month, the boy’s mother noticed that the tutor would rub her son’s back and poke his body, but she did not think much of it.
Between January and February 2023, the accused began placing the victim on his lap.
DPP Poh said Ikhlas was trying to get the victim to become accustomed to physical contact, so the boy would let his guard down when he molested him.
On Feb 26, 2023, the accused touched the boy inappropriately over his shorts while the latter was doing homework. Stunned, the boy did not know what to do and continued with his schoolwork.
Ikhlas molested him two more times that day.
When the lesson ended, the boy informed his mother about what had happened. The mother fired the accused that day, but did not lodge a police report.
The third victim was a 13-year-old student, and Ikhlas taught him mathematics and science from March 2022.
The lessons, which took place every Sunday from 1pm to 2.30pm, were conducted in the boy’s bedroom with the door closed. The Secondary 2 student, who was shy and introverted, noticed that Ikhlas liked to caress his thigh.
On March 26, 2023, the accused molested the victim. This shocked the boy, who moved away from the tutor.
The accused continued teaching as though nothing had happened and molested him again that day.
DPP Poh said the student was embarrassed about what Ikhlas had done to him.
She added: “He was initially reluctant to report the accused’s actions to his family. On April 1 that year, he plucked up the courage and told his mother.”
The victim’s sister lodged a police report two days later. The other offences came to light after the police started investigating.
DPP Poh sought a sentence of 2½ to three years’ jail with two to six strokes of the cane for the accused.
She said the accused had abused his position as the victims’ tutor and violated them in the sanctity of their own home.
“He appears to have been emboldened by the fact that the first victim had not complained against him and moved on to target an even younger victim,” she added.
Ikhlas will be sentenced on Jan 16.
For molesting a person under 14 years of age, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined and caned. - The Straits Times/ANN
