Michael Martin Lee Teck Heng, 58, was sentenced to a prison term of four years and nine months on 17 Jun 2025, after pleading guilty to multiple charges including obscene acts and molestation.
The married private tutor gave mathematics and science tuition to primary and secondary school students at his home on a one-on-one basis. Lee would commit sexual acts while standing behind his unwitting female students during lessons.
He also placed his private parts against two of the students on several occasions.
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He disguised the contact by placing his hand on the back or shoulder of the girls while perpetrating the acts. The victims remained unaware of what was happening behind them.
Five female students were identified as victims. They were aged between 13 and 16 at the time of the offences.
One 15-year-old girl felt something was amiss and felt uncomfortable with Lee’s close proximity. She suspected the nature of his acts but did not confront him as she perceived Lee to be religious. She also feared that he might do something worse as there was nobody else.
Exposing Private Parts
Lee’s crimes came to light on 30 Sep 2019 when a woman spotted him exposing his private parts at a bus stop and called the police.
Officers found Lee matched the description and discovered a video on his mobile phone showing him committing sexual acts. Police arrested him and seized both his phone and computer during a house raid.
Forensic examination revealed hundreds of obscene films on his devices. At least 545 videos showed Lee committing lewd acts in public places behind unidentified women in 299 separate incidents.
Another 406 videos captured Lee performing the same acts behind his young female students or placing his private parts on them in his living room across 31 incidents. Between May and September 2019, a total of 951 obscene films were created.
The eldest victim, aged 16, appeared in 228 videos across 13 occasions. Lee claimed he committed the acts because this victim had shown him care and concern, making him feel “attached” to her.
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Lee admitted during investigations that his youngest victim, aged 13, was one of his more “headstrong” students. He felt a need to “control” her through the obscene acts, which explained why a high proportion of videos featured this victim.
Mental Health Condition Does Not Reduce Sentence
Defence lawyer Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo & Palmer sought a sentence of around three years and 11 months’ jail. The prosecution requested five to six years’ imprisonment.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim described Lee as someone with “no qualms violating young women for his sexual perversion.” She emphasised that his position as a tutor gave him authority over vulnerable victims, making the offences difficult to detect.
“Taken together, the offences cumulatively show that the accused is a menace and a threat to the community,” said Ms Lim.
The defence submitted four medical reports from the Institute of Mental Health dating back to 1997. Lee had been receiving treatment for adjustment disorder since 1997 and was assessed to have exhibitionistic disorder in a 2022 medical report.
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An IMH doctor stated the disorder had a contributory link to Lee’s offences. His risk of reoffending was assessed as low to moderate.
Principal District Judge Toh Han Li rejected arguments that Lee’s mental condition should reduce his sentence. The judge noted that exhibitionistic disorder was not an impulse control disorder and did not impair Lee’s ability to exercise self-control.
Judge Toh stated that Lee was aware his acts were wrong and committed them of his own volition. The court gave no mitigating weight to his mental condition.
Lee pleaded guilty to one count of committing an obscene act, one count of making obscene films, three counts of molest, and one count of aggravated molest. Another ten charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
