9 years' jail for female teacher who committed sexual acts on female student on bus, in school toilet

The victim, a 15-year-old student at the time, suffered from nightmares and struggled to trust adults after what happened.

The State Courts of Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

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SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old teacher was sentenced to nine years' jail on Monday (Oct 5) for performing several sexual acts on her then-15-year-old student.

The teacher had pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual penetration of a minor and two charges of sexually exploiting a young person under the age of 16.

Another five charges of sexually exploiting a young person, one charge of sexual grooming and another for sexual communication with a minor were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Both teacher and student cannot be named due to a gag order.

She had performed the sex acts on the student at several locations, such as the school toilet, a karaoke room and on a bus.

As a result of the teacher's actions, the student suffered from nightmares, could not focus and struggled to trust adults.

In sentencing, District Judge Paul Chan said that she had made a "serious error of judgement", but that the judgement was not on her as a "mother or wife".

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yeo Kee Hwan told the court that the woman was the victim's mathematics teacher.

The victim was a Secondary 3 female student, had a history of family problems and struggled with various mental health conditions, including adjustment disorder.

Child Protection Services had intervened in her family situation previously due to concerns of her parents' use of harsh physical punishment on her.

Her teachers at the time of the offences, including the accused, were aware of her difficulties at home, said DPP Yeo.

The court heard that the offender began teaching the student in 2023.

In April that year, the student approached the teacher to seek support and advice on family matters.

"They eventually entered into what the victim described as a 'situationship' and engaged in a series of sexual encounters from Oct 13, to Nov 21, 2023," said DPP Yeo.

The first encounter occurred in a karaoke room on Oct 13, 2023.

Over the next two days, the teacher and student discussed the first encounter, and both agreed to stop engaging in further acts.

However, on Oct 16, after the student finished an exam, the teacher took the student to a female staff toilet where they committed another sexual act.

They continued committing the acts at various locations, including on the upper deck of a double-decker bus and in a room rented to watch movies.

DPP Yeo said that after the teacher and student fell out, the student informed her Child Protection Services-appointed safety adult on Jan 16, 2024 that she had been sexually assaulted on three occasions.

The matter was referred to the school's vice principal, who then took the student to lodge a police report the next day.

Following this, the student would break down in school as the environment reminded her of what happened. She was then diagnosed with adjustment disorder.

The court also heard that the student suffered from insomnia, had suicidal thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks and recurrent thoughts about the offences.

Mathematics lessons reminded her of the offences, and she struggled to focus. She also had difficulty trusting adults and would have panic attacks. As a result, her academic performance deteriorated.

A doctor from the Institute of Mental Health said that her symptoms were consistent with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).

DPP Yeo and DPP Selene Yap called for a total sentence of eight years' and 14 to 16 months' imprisonment, describing the relationship and acts as "exploitative".

The teacher was represented by Mr Kalaithasan Karuppaya of Regent Law LLC.

Mr Kalaithasan said during mitigation that she was remorseful, as evident from her cooperation with investigations and her plea of guilt.

He called for a sentence of eight years' and six months' jail.

"Her actions were due to a lapse in judgment. This is a scar that will remain with her for the rest of her life," said Mr Kalaithasan.

He added that the woman had sought professional help from a psychiatrist.

Her husband also provided a testimonial of her as a wife and mother to a four-year-old, and said that he believes she is "capable of genuine rehabilitation".

In meting out the sentence, Judge Chan said that the woman had made "serious errors of judgement" and that her actions crossed professional boundaries.

He also acknowledged the harm caused to the victim, but added that he hoped the woman would turn over a new leaf.

"I have read the many testimonials tendered to you, and it's clear you have many redeeming qualities. Upon your release, apply these qualities for the benefit of your family and wider community," he said.

After the sentence was read out, the woman began to cry.

For sexual penetration of a minor, she could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined. While the punishment for such a crime includes caning, criminals above the age of 50 and women cannot be caned.

She also faced a fine of up to S$10,000, jail for up to five years, or both, for sexually exploiting a minor.

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受害者当时是一名15岁的学生，事发后他饱受噩梦困扰，并且难以信任成年人。

新加坡国家法院。（资料照片：CNA/Jeremy Long）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：一名35岁的女教师周一（10月5日）被判处9年监禁，罪名是对其当时15岁的学生实施多次性行为。

该教师承认犯有一项性侵未成年人罪和两项性剥削 16 岁以下青少年罪。

在量刑时，还考虑了另外五项性剥削未成年人的指控、一项性诱骗指控和一项与未成年人进行性交流的指控。

由于禁言令，教师和学生的姓名均不能透露。

她曾在多个地点对这名学生实施性行为，例如学校厕所、卡拉OK包房和公交车上。

由于老师的行为，这名学生经常做噩梦，无法集中注意力，并且难以信任成年人。

在宣判时，地方法官保罗·陈表示，她犯了一个“严重的判断错误”，但这个错误并非针对她作为“母亲或妻子”的身份。

副检察官杨基焕告诉法庭，该女子是受害者的数学老师。

受害者是一名中三女生，有家庭问题史，并患有多种心理健康问题，包括适应障碍。

儿童保护服务机构此前曾介入她的家庭情况，原因是担心她的父母对她进行严厉的体罚。

检察官杨表示，案发时她的老师，包括被告在内，都知道她在家里的困难。

法庭获悉，该罪犯从 2023 年开始教这名学生。

同年四月，这名学生找到老师，寻求有关家庭问题的支持和建议。

“他们最终进入了受害者所描述的‘暧昧关系’，并在 2023 年 10 月 13 日至 11 月 21 日期间进行了一系列性接触，”检察官杨说。

第一次相遇发生在 2023 年 10 月 13 日的卡拉 OK 包房。

在接下来的两天里，老师和学生讨论了第一次遭遇，双方都同意停止进一步的类似行为。

然而，10 月 16 日，这名学生考完试后，老师带他去了女教职工厕所，在那里他们又发生了性行为。

他们继续在各种地点实施犯罪行为，包括双层巴士的上层以及租来观看电影的房间。

检察官杨表示，在师生发生争执后，该学生于 2024 年 1 月 16 日告知其儿童保护服务机构指定的安全成年人，她曾三次遭到性侵犯。

此事已交由学校副校长处理，副校长随后于第二天带该学生去警局报案。

此后，每当学校环境让她想起发生的事情，这名学生就会在学校里崩溃大哭。她随后被诊断出患有适应障碍。

法庭还获悉，该学生患有失眠症，有自杀念头，经常做噩梦，反复出现闪回，并反复想起犯罪行为。

数学课让她想起那些罪行，她难以集中注意力。她也很难信任成年人，并且经常出现恐慌发作。结果，她的学业成绩一落千丈。

精神健康研究所的一名医生表示，她的症状符合创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 的诊断标准。

检察官杨荣文和叶雪玲要求判处被告八年零十四至十六个月的监禁，并称这种关系和行为是“剥削性的”。

这位老师的代理律师是 Regent Law LLC 的 Kalaithasan Karuppaya 先生。

卡莱塔桑先生在求情时表示，她很后悔，这一点从她配合调查和认罪的态度中可以明显看出。

他要求判处八年零六个月监禁。

“她的行为是由于判断失误造成的。这将在她余生中留下难以磨灭的伤痕，”卡莱塔桑先生说。

他还补充说，这名女子曾向精神科医生寻求专业帮助。

她的丈夫也提供了她作为妻子和四岁孩子母亲的证词，并表示他相信她“有能力真正改过自新”。

陈法官在宣判时表示，该女子犯了“严重的判断错误”，她的行为越过了职业界限。

他也承认对受害者造成了伤害，但补充说，他希望这名女子能够改过自新。

“我阅读了大家对你的诸多推荐信，很明显你有很多值得称道的品质。获释后，请将这些品质用于造福你的家人和更广泛的社区，”他说。

判决宣读完毕后，那名女子开始哭泣。

她因性侵未成年人，最高可被判处20年监禁并处罚金。虽然此类犯罪的刑罚包括鞭刑，但50岁以上的罪犯和女性不能被判处鞭刑。

她还面临因性剥削未成年人而处以最高 1 万新元的罚款、最高五年的监禁，或两者并罚。

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