SINGAPORE: A 39-year-old tuition teacher was on Wednesday (Nov 20) jailed for six weeks and fined S$5,000 (US$3,700) for molesting a student during a lesson in his home.
Yew Yap Hon pleaded guilty to two charges of outrage of modesty, with a third similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing.
The victim, whose identity is protected by a gag order, was 18 and had started taking lessons with Yew several months before the incident on Oct 7, 2023.
The court heard that Yew had suggested the teen go to his place for her lessons on the basis that her home was too noisy and not conducive.
On the day of the incident, Yew had asked the student whether she could stay late or overnight. She said that she could stay late.
Their lesson started at 7.20pm, with Yew initially sitting at a 90-degree angle to the student. But near midnight, he asked if he could sit closer to her. When she agreed, he shifted next to her.
Yew then molested the victim by touching her buttocks. She shifted and leaned away from him. Yew then placed his arms around her shoulder.
When the teen asked Yew what he was doing, he asked whether she minded his actions. She said that she was uncomfortable.
Yew then apologised to the victim. However, while he was doing so, he molested her again by rubbing her back. He also said in Mandarin that he “could not take it anymore”.
The student did not dare to confront Yew in his home, and acted as if everything was alright. She then called her uncle to pick her up and waited for him at the main gate of the condominium.
In sentencing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yap Jia Jun argued that there could have been an element of premeditation, as Yew had suggested having the tuition lessons in his home.
The penalty for outraging the modesty of a person is a jail term of up to three years, or with a fine, or with caning, or any combination of these punishments.
