Ex-teacher jailed for texting obscene messages to student
Posted: 10 April 2012 1819 hrs
SINGAPORE: A former relief teacher was jailed 10 months on Tuesday for sending lewd text messages to his 13-year-old student.
The 48-year-old father of three pleaded guilty to the indecent act, which took place in December 2010.
Both the man and the girl, who is now 15 years old, cannot be named to protect their identities.
At the time of the offence, the man was teaching Mathematics at the secondary school.
During that period, he added the girl as a contact on Facebook, where he retrieved her personal information, including her mobile number.
He then sent her a total of 26 text messages, many of which were sexually explicit in nature.
He also expressed his desire for her to be his girlfriend.
The court heard that the girl did not reciprocate and also turned him down when he asked to meet with her on two occasions.
Sometime in December 2010, the man also sent her another text message.
A month later, the girl confided in a senior schoolmate about the incident.
A police report was made later.
During his mitigation, the man said that he "sincerely regretted" the incident.
He also pleaded for leniency, and asked for a fine, instead of a jail term.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Winston Man told the court that the man had abused his position of trust and authority.
DPP Man also highlighted the mass number of text messages sent and their explicit nature.
In sentencing, District Judge Mr Roy Neighbour also noted that the offence warranted a "substantial" term of imprisonment.
The man could have been jailed up to five years and fined S$10,000.
- CNA/ck
