Guy Posted Another NUS Incident, This Time Accusing Student Tutor of Sexual Misconduct

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is certainly not catching a break.

Following a series of high-profile cases revolving around sexual misconduct, the school seems to have landed in hot water again.

And this time, it appears to be that of a student-tutor relationship, which may have gotten a little more innuendo-y than the term would have originally intended for.

Guy Posted Another NUS Saga, This Time Accusing Student Tutor of Sexual Misconduct

Earlier today (21 November 2020), Facebook user Tow Ying Xiang posted an eye-opening account on the social media platform – wherein he professed to being a victim of campus sexual misconduct and sexual grooming by a former student tutor.

Introducing himself as an NUS student from Tembusu College, Tow entailed how his former coach in CS1010S: Programming Methodology had made numerous sexual advances “under the guise of being a friend who needed a listening ear”.

The tutor, who is supposedly an MOE scholar, also allegedly sent “various disgusting text messages about his sexual urges”.

After seeking advice from his close friends, Tow decided to lodge a formal report with NUS. He also contacted MOE in the meantime.

Non-Committal

According to Tow, his initial trust in NUS soon withered away when he claimed that the school allegedly failed to take the issue seriously.

These are some of the points he mentioned throughout the entirety of the post:

• He was left in the dark amidst the investigation process.
• Responses by officials proved non-committal.
• He received insulting remarks from the staff coordinator of CS1010S.
• No action was taken even though he informed the relevant authorities.
• He was required to accomplish a series of tasks just to secure support for his cause.
• The school purportedly took its time to handle his call for help.

As a result of the school’s seeming tardiness, Tow “had to bear attending classes under the perpetrator before getting any sort of protection or class transfer.”

He also felt dehumanised, confused and traumatised.

Nearing the end of the post, he expressed his opinion that “NUS is facilitating and has facilitated predatory behaviour in the past”.

He also questioned the need for students to join workshops on Respect and Consent, when the “Vice Provost cannot even recognise the inherent dignity of the students she owes a duty of care” to.

To conclude, he expressed his fatigue over the ongoing matter, and hoped that he would be the last to do such a thing.

“Having exhausted all possible internal processes within the University,” he said, “I am already sick and tired of explaining the difference between due process and favourable outcome to people who, frankly, should know better. I hope I will be the last one to have to do this.”

You can view the full post here:

Netizens Express Outrage

Needless to say; Netizens were up in arms over Tow’s allegation.

Some were not shy to call out the relevant authorities for their behaviour in this matter.

Others expressed their support for Tow.

And a few offered similar accounts.

One thing certainly seems to be clear.

Dissent is at a high level, and the university’s reputation is at risk of falling apart altogether.

Previous Instances

This incident comes after an increasingly prominent spate of sexual-related offences to have occurred at the prestigious University.

These include the infamous Monica Baey incident, during which the victim Monica Baey had been filmed in the shower by a fellow student.

Since then, other deviant cases have occurred, such as further voyeurism and theft.

Most recently, a lecturer at Tembusu College was dismissed from his post in light of sexual misconduct against two NUS female students.

The university conducted a probe and concluded that he had “behaved inappropriately as a teaching staff”.

“An internal investigation was carried out and Dr Fernando’s conduct was found to have fallen short of the standards of professionalism that the university expects of a teaching staff. Based on the findings of the internal investigation, Dr Fernando, a non-residential teaching staff, was dismissed by the university,” an NUS spokesman said.

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