NTU Graduate Sentenced to 27 Months’ Jail for Molesting Teen, Forcing Child to Pose in Lingerie

By
Siti Hajar
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A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 27 months’ jail and five strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to molesting an 18-year-old girl and getting a 13-year-old to pose in lingerie during photo shoots held in his NTU dormitory room.

Tnee Chin Kiat was convicted on 25 Mar 2025 of three offences – outrage of modesty, procuring an indecent act by a child and possessing child sexual abuse material. Three other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

NTU Student Used Dormitory Room for Inappropriate Photo Shoots

The court heard that Tnee, aged 25 or 26 at the time of the offences, worked as a flight engineer while studying part-time at Nanyang Technological University.

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He took up photography as a hobby in 2016 or 2017 and began asking friends and strangers to pose as models. The photo shoots, hosted in his Graduate Hall 1 dormitory room, featured females wearing lingerie, bikinis, and see-through swimsuits.

According to court documents, Tnee approached women he found attractive, hoping to engage in sexual acts with them.

In 2018, he placed online advertisements on Gumtree seeking “young, skinny, petite” girls to pose for photographs in exchange for money.

An 18-year-old responded to his advertisement and met him three times within two months at his dorm room. Each photo shoot lasted about two hours, with the victim posing in lingerie provided by Tnee, and she was paid about $200 per session.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min said after the first two sessions, Tnee “formed the impression” that he had a romantic connection with her and developed feelings for her.

During the third session, Tnee told her to lie on his bed before securing her wrists to the bed frame using restraints.

After taking photographs of the restrained victim, he molested her twice and tried to kiss her, but she turned away.

“The victim was shocked and afraid as she was restrained. She told Tnee that she wanted to stop the session and told him that his behaviour was not right,” said DPP Tan.

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Tnee apologised, undid her restraints and handed her $200 before she left.

Child Sexual Abuse Material Found Following Arrest

That same year, Tnee approached a 13-year-old girl at an overhead bridge near her house, told her he was a freelance photographer, and invited her to be his model. The girl gave him only her Instagram username.

After Tnee repeatedly messaged her on Instagram, she felt she had no choice but to agree to a photo shoot so he would leave her alone.

When she went to his dorm room, she followed his instructions to change into lingerie, feeling afraid because she was alone with him.

“The victim told Tnee that she was uncomfortable, but he ignored the victim and continued to take photos of her. The victim felt very upset,” said DPP Tan.

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Tnee paid her $80 at the end of the session. Several days later, he messaged her again requesting another photo shoot. When she ignored him, he continued contacting her until she threatened to file a police report.

The girl did not report the incident as she was scared.

Tnee was arrested after approaching an 11-year-old girl for a photo shoot on 13 Sep 2020. Court documents did not mention if she posed for him.

During police interviews, he disclosed his other photo shoots, which led to the discovery of his offences.

The police found 1,144 obscene video files on his mobile phone, laptop and hard-disk drives, of which 69 videos and 81 photos were child sexual abuse material.

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Tnee’s lawyer, Mr Gino Hardial Singh from Abbots Chambers, said while his client was aware of the child sexual abuse materials in the pornographic files he had downloaded in bulk, he never consumed them.

District Judge Eugene Teo said it did not change the fact that “they are highly objectionable materials for which caning ought to be imposed.”

In mitigation, Tnee wrote a letter apologising to those involved. He claimed counselling and Buddhist meditation had helped him change his life.

During sentencing, Judge Teo addressed Tnee directly, saying: “I hope that as you are standing there (in the dock)… you were uncomfortable, because that indicates that you have some capacity for reform.”

The judge added: “This outcome is meant to signal something, Mr Tnee, that you should make sure you don’t falter in your efforts to reform yourself.”

NTU told The Straits Times in 2023 that Tnee had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2016 and a master’s in 2020, without stating his field of study. The university said there were no allegations of criminal misconduct or charges brought against him while he was a student.

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Siti Hajar