My school counsellor molested me
SINGAPORE - She was a troubled teen who turned to her ITE counsellor for help last year.
They ended up being sexually intimate. He would later tell investigators that it was consensual.
But two weeks later, she alleged to her school that he had molested her.
About a month later, still haunted by the incident, she jumped to her death from the sixth storey of a building at ITE College East at Simei Avenue.
These details were revealed yesterday at a coroner's inquiry into the death of Chiu Ka Ying, who was 16 years old at the time.
Of Indian ethnicity, she was adopted by her Chinese parents soon after her birth. This identity crisis bothered her.
Ka Ying also had a history of self-harm behaviour and she was admitted to Changi General Hospital in 2010 for cutting her wrists.
But the alleged molest was what drove her into depression. In an examination at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) just five days before her death, she said she had been molested by her lecturer and kept having flashbacks of the incident.
The Life Skills lecturer, Mr Michael Tay Jau Jen, 36, started teaching Ka Ying's class on July 11 last year.
Mr Tay, who was also a counsellor in the school, gave his mobile number to his students, telling them they could approach him with school problems and even personal problems.
Ka Ying later sent him a text message and related some of her personal problems to him.
He told investigators that she had frequently hinted that she was interested in sexual activities and asked if he could help her.
Three days later, the two of them met up in a classroom alone and became sexually intimate. Mr Tay said it was purely consensual.
The nature of their sexual intimacy was not mentioned.
Ka Ying later told one of her friends that it happened more than once but fewer than five times.
Each time, they would meet in a classroom and Mr Tay would behave intimately by touching her.
When her friend asked why she didn't shout for help, Ka Ying replied that her mind was blank and that she did not know what to do.
Her friend told her to make a police report. But she refused, saying that she didn't want to escalate the matter further. She also told her friend that she was in a relationship with Mr Tay.
Eventually, on July 27, she did alert the school, alleging that Mr Tay had molested her.
The next day, the school called him up to find out what happened. He then stopped having contact with Ka Ying.
The ITE's investigation report said the allegations could not be confirmed as there were no witnesses and the alleged incident had taken place behind closed doors.
But the school found that Mr Tay had behaved unprofessionally.
He subsequently quit on Aug 8 while the investigations were going on, citing the investigation and personal family problems as reasons.
The school said they couldn't stop him from resigning before disciplinary proceedings were initiated.
Counsellors were shocked that a counsellor had had sexual intimacy with a teenager seeking his help, with one saying that he had "abused his position of trust to a vulnerable young girl".
After Ka Ying showed signs of depression, the ITE arranged for her to be counselled at IMH. She reported feeling anxious and said she experienced episodes of panic attacks with palpitations and feelings of doom.
But she did not report any suicidal plans or intent.
Then, on the night before her death, she texted her friend to ask what would happen if she died.
Her friend revealed that it wasn't the first time that Ka Ying had mentioned wanting to commit suicide, and that she had done so more often after the alleged molest.
On Sept 6 at about 11am, Ka Ying poured out all her personal problems to her friend.
She talked about her family matters and the alleged molest by Mr Tay repeatedly.
She even cursed and hoped that he would be punished for what he did to her.
Ka Ying was stressed by the impending examinations and she had not studied because of what had happened to her.
At 5.35pm that day, she called a female lecturer, Ms Png Tan Chen Wan, twice, but the calls went unanswered.
Ms Png sent her a text message saying that she was busy.
Ka Ying texted her back and said: "If I annoy you, please pardon me, I won't disturb you any more."
Ms Png replied: "You understand I am busy, right?" Ka Ying did not reply.
Five minutes later, she called a male lecturer, Mr Mohd Zaidi Mohd Yacob, to thank him for being her teacher. She also said that he would not see her the next day.
He told another lecturer, who then went looking for her.
A jogger spotted Ka Ying sitting on the staircase railing on the sixth storey of the ITE's School of Business and Services, with her legs dangling outside of the railing.
The jogger told a student, who alerted the ITE's course manager, Mr Parwinder Singh.
Mr Singh, who had been trained in suicide intervention, called the police and tried to get her to safety. But she told him to go away.
Just then, Ms Png appeared with another lecturer.
Ka Ying looked at her with a resigned expression, turned her head forward and jumped off the railing.
She was pronounced dead at 6.21pm.
State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid said that Ka Ying had jumped with the intention of taking her life.
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SINGAPORE - She was a troubled teen who turned to her ITE counsellor for help last year.
They ended up being sexually intimate. He would later tell investigators that it was consensual.
But two weeks later, she alleged to her school that he had molested her.
About a month later, still haunted by the incident, she jumped to her death from the sixth storey of a building at ITE College East at Simei Avenue.
These details were revealed yesterday at a coroner's inquiry into the death of Chiu Ka Ying, who was 16 years old at the time.
Of Indian ethnicity, she was adopted by her Chinese parents soon after her birth. This identity crisis bothered her.
Ka Ying also had a history of self-harm behaviour and she was admitted to Changi General Hospital in 2010 for cutting her wrists.
But the alleged molest was what drove her into depression. In an examination at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) just five days before her death, she said she had been molested by her lecturer and kept having flashbacks of the incident.
The Life Skills lecturer, Mr Michael Tay Jau Jen, 36, started teaching Ka Ying's class on July 11 last year.
Mr Tay, who was also a counsellor in the school, gave his mobile number to his students, telling them they could approach him with school problems and even personal problems.
Ka Ying later sent him a text message and related some of her personal problems to him.
He told investigators that she had frequently hinted that she was interested in sexual activities and asked if he could help her.
Three days later, the two of them met up in a classroom alone and became sexually intimate. Mr Tay said it was purely consensual.
The nature of their sexual intimacy was not mentioned.
Ka Ying later told one of her friends that it happened more than once but fewer than five times.
Each time, they would meet in a classroom and Mr Tay would behave intimately by touching her.
When her friend asked why she didn't shout for help, Ka Ying replied that her mind was blank and that she did not know what to do.
Her friend told her to make a police report. But she refused, saying that she didn't want to escalate the matter further. She also told her friend that she was in a relationship with Mr Tay.
Eventually, on July 27, she did alert the school, alleging that Mr Tay had molested her.
The next day, the school called him up to find out what happened. He then stopped having contact with Ka Ying.
The ITE's investigation report said the allegations could not be confirmed as there were no witnesses and the alleged incident had taken place behind closed doors.
But the school found that Mr Tay had behaved unprofessionally.
He subsequently quit on Aug 8 while the investigations were going on, citing the investigation and personal family problems as reasons.
The school said they couldn't stop him from resigning before disciplinary proceedings were initiated.
Counsellors were shocked that a counsellor had had sexual intimacy with a teenager seeking his help, with one saying that he had "abused his position of trust to a vulnerable young girl".
After Ka Ying showed signs of depression, the ITE arranged for her to be counselled at IMH. She reported feeling anxious and said she experienced episodes of panic attacks with palpitations and feelings of doom.
But she did not report any suicidal plans or intent.
Then, on the night before her death, she texted her friend to ask what would happen if she died.
Her friend revealed that it wasn't the first time that Ka Ying had mentioned wanting to commit suicide, and that she had done so more often after the alleged molest.
On Sept 6 at about 11am, Ka Ying poured out all her personal problems to her friend.
She talked about her family matters and the alleged molest by Mr Tay repeatedly.
She even cursed and hoped that he would be punished for what he did to her.
Ka Ying was stressed by the impending examinations and she had not studied because of what had happened to her.
At 5.35pm that day, she called a female lecturer, Ms Png Tan Chen Wan, twice, but the calls went unanswered.
Ms Png sent her a text message saying that she was busy.
Ka Ying texted her back and said: "If I annoy you, please pardon me, I won't disturb you any more."
Ms Png replied: "You understand I am busy, right?" Ka Ying did not reply.
Five minutes later, she called a male lecturer, Mr Mohd Zaidi Mohd Yacob, to thank him for being her teacher. She also said that he would not see her the next day.
He told another lecturer, who then went looking for her.
A jogger spotted Ka Ying sitting on the staircase railing on the sixth storey of the ITE's School of Business and Services, with her legs dangling outside of the railing.
The jogger told a student, who alerted the ITE's course manager, Mr Parwinder Singh.
Mr Singh, who had been trained in suicide intervention, called the police and tried to get her to safety. But she told him to go away.
Just then, Ms Png appeared with another lecturer.
Ka Ying looked at her with a resigned expression, turned her head forward and jumped off the railing.
She was pronounced dead at 6.21pm.
State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid said that Ka Ying had jumped with the intention of taking her life.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
