News

Male Teacher Allegedly Molests 12-Year-Old Boy, Mother Felt “Betrayed”

2021-02-23 , 11:44 am

When it comes to placing our kids in someone else’s care, you can never be too careful.

After all, the risk of offending someone by implying they’re not trustworthy is nothing compared to the threat of our young ones getting abused.

Because sadly, even the ones you trust the most will take advantage of them if given the chance.

Male Teacher Allegedly Molests 12-Year-Old Boy

And that’s exactly what a primary school teacher did after getting close to one student’s family, reported TODAY.

Over time, the victim’s family viewed the man as one of their own; he lent them money and even took on the role as the 12-year-old boy’s guardian.

Then, one day, the mother of four returned home to see the man hugging her son who was sitting on his lap.

The boy later revealed to his mother that his teacher was allegedly molesting him.

Visited Boy’s Home Almost Every Day

The boy’s mother, who works as a cleaner, testified for the first time during the molestation trial, which began last August.

She is the sole breadwinner of the family, and is divorced.

The man became the boy’s teacher in 2016, when he was in Primary 6.

Later that year, the man suggested organising a birthday party for the 12-year-old at home. He gifted the boy a cake and toy.

In August that year, the boy’s mother also invited him to her son’s baptism ceremony.

The following year, the man began visiting the boy’s home “almost every day” to give him tuition lessons.

At this point, the boy was in secondary school, and was no longer being taught by the same man.

The primary school teacher would leave the home at 10pm when the mother returned from work.

He also drove the boy to school on occasion and took him home every day.

Lent Money to the Mother, Bought Handphone & Other Gifts For the Boy

The man gained the family’s trust over time through his seemingly generous actions.

He lent the mother money for utility bills and groceries, as well as medical bills for one of her other sons, who suffered from depression.

He also gave tuition, subsidised their pocket money to school, and bought the boy clothes and a handphone.

According to bank records between January to June in 2017, the man had transferred sums of between $100 and $500 to the boy’s mother on several occasions.

The man had even given the boy a bank card to use whenever he liked, but quarrelled with the boy when he used it to buy a teddy bear for his girlfriend.

Man Took On Role as Guardian

One act that saddened the boy’s mother was the man’s decision to fill out his name under the “guardian” heading in the boy’s report book. He also signed in the column meant for parents.

This made the boy’s mother “very sad”, but she felt indebted to him and did not want to offend him.

Since the boy’s mother was always working and coming home late, the boy grew close to the man.

Allegedly Molested or Tried to Molest Boy on Three Occasions

One day, when the boy’s mother came back home and saw the man hugging the boy who was sitting on his lap, she remembered something her supervisor had told her.

Her supervisor had seen the boy on the man’s lap at a void deck, where he allegedly hugged and kissed the boy on his neck, ears, cheek, and mouth.

On 15 June, 2017, the mother allowed the boy to have a sleepover at the man’s place. Her son later called, indicating he wasn’t okay, but the man interrupted the conversation and the call ended there.

She couldn’t fetch her son because she didn’t know where the man lived.

The next day, the boy confided in his mother that the man had molested him.

She instructed him to ignore the man’s calls and only reply through text so they could gather evidence against him.

Some of the messages allegedly read “I love you” and “I miss you”.

Felt “Betrayed” By Man She Trusted

It was later revealed that the man had allegedly molested or tried to molest the boy three times on 15 and 16 June in 2017.

This included touching the boy’s crotch and putting his hand into the boy’s underwear.

In court, when giving details of the incident, the mother grew emotional. When asked why, she replied: “I told you, I don’t want him to be offended, I was indebted… I trusted him so much. Why did he do this?”

Towards the end of the hearing, the mother grew emotional again and raised her voice, saying: “I trust this man so much. I took him as part of my family and he betrayed me.”

If found guilty of molesting a minor, the 35-year-old teacher could be jailed up to five years, fined, caned, or all three.

Feature Image: Scomputer photo / Shutterstock.com