A former National University of Singapore (NUS) senior psychology lecturer who was on the run for 17 years is now on trial for five outrage of modesty charges.
In 1999, Singaporean Chan Cheng, now 59, molested five teenage boys at a school camp and later fled to Malaysia to avoid prosecution.
The former lecturer then had his contract terminated by NUS when he failed to turn up to court.
Chan was sent back to Singapore in December 2016.
Background
Chan obtained his PhD from Oxford University and was the former president of the Singapore Psychological Society.
He was also reported to have his own company known as Procamps to teach study skills to young students.
He also organised camps for children during school holidays.
Traumatic Encounters
The teenage boys were in Secondary 1 when Chan molested them at the Guilemard Camp in Old Airport Road during a three-day school camp in June 1999.
One of the victims who testified during the trial described how he had been sitting on a bed talking to a friend when Chan started massaging his thigh.
The man added that he pushed Chan’s hand away when it moved to his private parts. The victim’s friend corroborated this account, adding that he was shocked at what he witnessed.
Three other men also told the court during the trial that Chan had touched their genitals that same night.
Another victim said that Chan had applied powder on his private parts before molesting him.
One other man, who was a Secondary 2 student leader at the time, saw Chan touching one of the teenager’s private parts when he entered a boys’ bunk on the second night. He alerted a teacher the next day.
The teacher then interviewed one of the victims who revealed that Chan had also targeted other students. The school principal lodged a police report after learning about the encounters.
Officers later arrested Chan on Nov 27, 1999, but he was released on bail and fled to Malaysia.
Denial
Chan, on the other hand, denied the allegations.
He claimed that he did not touch the private parts “of any student at any time”.
Also, he claimed that he was framed by the victims because they were unhappy with the “harsh, regimental style of the camp”.
It is not clear how Chan was caught in Malaysia.
Guilty
At his trial, District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan found Chan guilty of all five counts of molestation. Seven other molestation charges involving four other boys are still pending.
Chan will return to court on Monday (29 July) to be sentenced. For his crime, he can get up to two years’ jail and fine for each count of molestation.
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