Teacher jailed for indecency

A 42-YEAR-OLD teacher has been jailed six months for committing indecent acts on a 13-year-old boy who was studying in the same school.

She had pleaded guilty on Feb 5 to kissing him on the lips and giving him love bites on his neck and shoulder.

In passing sentence, District Judge Ng Peng Hong noted that the case involved “the sexual grooming of a young victim by a teacher” and said that a jail sentence was appropriate as it is the public policy to protect the young and vulnerable.

He also said that the teacher had breached her duty to the school and to the boy’s parents.

Ng noted the wide age disparity of 29 years between the boy and the teacher as an aggravating factor.

The teacher and the boy 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.

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

On four occasions from Oct 22 to Nov 13, 2012, he played truant to join her on trips to the movies and the Botanic Gardens.

It was in the parks where she would kiss him and give him love bites. It was after their trip to the Botanic Gardens that the mother spotted the love bites.

The boy then revealed to her his relationship with the teacher.

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

The woman, who had been teaching the Malay language for 11 years, could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000 (RM26,000) or both.

She cannot be named as it can lead to the identification of the minor. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network