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NUS law prof says former student had 'motive' for giving him gifts and sex
By Foo Jie Ying
The New Paper
Sunday, Apr 14, 2013
Clarification by TNP:
The report gave the impression that the accused Tey Hsun Hang and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) deputy director of investigations Teng Khee Fatt were referring to the same document.
Tey was referring to a statement made on May 18 when he said the texture of the paper on the margins show some fading marks of an eraser.
Mr Teng was referring to the one made on May 17 when he said he had used a pencil to indicate where a mistake was made.
Without making this clear, the report may lead readers to conclude that Mr Teng had admitted he had made markings on the statement recorded by CPIB on May 18.
SINGAPORE - She made use of me for a good future.
That was what National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang claimed in his fifth statement recorded by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on May 18 last year.
He said former student Darinne Ko, 23, had a "motive" for showering him with gifts, and that the sex they had on two occasions in his NUS office was with "guilty intent".
"It is because she expected me to show her favour and help her get into justice law clerk and an international law firm," he said.
"I think she is guiltier than I am."
In the same statement, Tey, who is on trial for corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from Miss Ko, revealed more details about giving her better grades for her research paper on Cross Border Insolvency.
He called her a "below-average student" who belonged to the "bottom 20 per cent to 25 per cent".
By giving her an A grade instead of a D, Miss Ko would then move to the top 20 per cent, which gave her a shot at getting a first-class degree.
"She knew about her chance of getting a first class with this change. I think she was happy. She wanted to be a justice law clerk," said Tey, who made six statements to the CPIB.
The statements were part of a trial-within-a-trial to determine if they could be admitted as evidence, for Tey had claimed they were made under duress.
On Tuesday, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye ruled they could be admitted as evidence and the main trial proceeded.
Dispute
Last Thursday, Tey attempted to dispute the fourth, fifth and sixth statements, which were recorded by CPIB deputy director of investigations Teng Khee Fatt, who took the stand. Tey repeatedly pointed out grammatical and spelling errors, saying they "don't make sense" and that he couldn't have committed them.
Some examples he raised included "presentment", "caritas" and "mental conscientious".
Judge Tan had to interrupt Tey twice: "Mr Tey, this is not an English class. You have to read in context. There will be typo errors, there will be grammatical errors. We have to look into the substance."
To which Tey replied: "I was trying very hard to persuade Your Honour that it was riddled with examples of expressions that couldn't be attributed to the defendant."
Also brought up in court last Thursday were "handwritten pencil markings" on the original copies of the CPIB statements.
Calling it CPIB's "modus operandi", he claimed that Mr Teng had made pencil markings on some parts of the statement before ordering him to correct them in pen.
Tey said: "Your Honour, if you look carefully, the texture of the paper on the margins show some fading marks of eraser on the right-hand margin, and Your Honour would be able to observe that."
Upon inspection of the original CPIB statements, both Deputy Public Prosecutor Kok Shu-En and Judge Tan said they did not see anything.
Tey then suggested a "scientific test" to prove that Mr Teng had indeed written on the statements in pencil, before erasing them.
Judge Tan dismissed his suggestion, saying that there was no need for such a test when the documents were before him.
Mr Teng later explained that he had used a pencil to "indicate where the mistake was made" - such as the misspelling of the word 'curve' - but he disagreed with Tey's allegation.
"I did not order Professor Tey to make those changes," said Mr Teng, who is expected to take the stand again today as the trial continues.
Law prof in sex-for-grades trial says he was "in love" with former student
The law professor accused of corruption in the sex-for-grades trial said he loved his former student and that he never wanted to take advantage of her.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The law professor accused of corruption in a sex-for-grades trial said he loved his former student and that he never wanted to take advantage of her.
Tey Tsun Hang, 41, faces six allegations that he corruptly obtained gifts and sex from 23-year-old Darinne Ko, in return for lifting her grades between May and July 2010.
Taking the witness stand in his own defence on Monday, Tey recounted his relationship with Ms Ko, saying he was in love with her.
He added that she would address him as "dearest dinosaur" and gave him an iPod filled with songs they listened to together.
Describing Ms Ko as "charming", "vivacious" and "an intellect", Tey also told the court they would send each other poems - hers in English and his in Mandarin - as a declaration of their love for one another.
Tey also went through the list of gifts Ms Ko showered on him, which included among other things, a Montblanc pen, CYC tailored shirts and an iPod.
Tey also gave an explanation of his cheque book entries that were mentioned in court in January this year.
The court had heard then that Tey had paid Ms Ko for those gifts as well as for the dinner at Garibaldi's. The bill for that dinner was dated 21 July 2010.
Tey said he had issued a cheque for S$2,500 in July 2010 before Ms Ko left for an overseas study stint.
Back in January 2013, he said the amount is slightly more than the value of the gifts mentioned in the first four charges.
But in January this year, Ms Ko said no such cheque was given to her.
Tey said he made the cheque out to Ms Ko but she refused to accept it.
Tey said he paid her in cash after that.
At that time, lead prosecutor Mr Andre Jumabhoy pointed out that the cheque was dated early July 2010 while the dinner bill was dated 21 July.
So Mr Jumabhoy said Tey is purporting to pay for a dinner even before it had taken place.
But on Monday, Tey explained that Ms Ko had been arranging for the Garibaldi dinner weeks before the actual appointment as all nine attendees had different schedules. And because it was arranged weeks before, Tey said he had a rough idea of the cost of the dinner.
By then, Tey said he also found out from a friend, the cost of the Montblanc pen.
He said he added the costs of the dinner, pen and other gifts and wrote a cheque amounting to S$2,500 to Ms Ko for the items to reimburse her.
Tey said that prosecution's point about him being able to foretell the cost of a dinner in the future was a "hurtful supposition".
Later in the day, another key defence argument was brought up.
Tey told the court that under the National University of Singapore's robust marking system, a "collaborative effort" is needed to enter marks into the university’s examination system.
Tey explained that marks are entered into the examination system by an administrative manager and any changes to a student's grades require the approval of the Vice-Dean.
Tey said academic professors have no access to the system.
He also mentioned another of the university's precautions, which was the anonymous marking of papers.
The court heard that Ms Ko was ranked in the 82nd percentile for the subject "Equity and Trusts", and that that was before she and Tey started a relationship.
By the time she took the subject "Personal Property Law", which was also taught by Tey, Ms Ko's ranking went down to the "60 something percentile".
That was when they started going out.
When it came to her directed research paper much later, Ms Ko's percentile dropped even further - "to (the) 32nd or 33rd percentile".
Looking miserable, Tey added that their relationship right from the beginning was "pure, mutual and romantic", free of corrupt intent.
He said that he tried to explain this to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's (CPIB) investigating officers but they refused to listen as they had "tunnel vision".
The move for Tey to testify follows the wrap of the prosecution's case on Monday morning.
Sex-for-grades trial: Relationship had nothing to do with money or exploitation, claims Tey
Published on Apr 15, 2013
Sex-for-grades corrpution trial against law professor Tey Tsun Hang, 41, who faces six charges of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from Ms Darinne Ko Wen Hu, then a final year law undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), in exchange for giving her good grades in 2010. The love that Ms Darinne Ko and he shared was "forbidden" and "frowned upon by society", said law professor Tey Tsun Hang. -- ST FILE PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
By Walter Sim And Bryna Singh
The love that Ms Darinne Ko and he shared was "forbidden" and "frowned upon by society", said law professor Tey Tsun Hang.
Giving his account of the relationship he had with his former student for the first time, he painted a picture of them as star-crossed lovers.
Taking the witness stand in the sex-for-grades corruption trial on Monday, he pointed to a letter written by Ms Ko, now 23, before their relationship ended to show how "intense" it had been. "She wrote this message of love lost, hope distressed, togetherness and departure," he said.
While giving his version of events of their relationship, Tey sounded wistful at times and at other points, was inaudible - leading Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye to ask him to speak up.
Sex-for-grades trial: Law prof received e-mail with Darrine Ko's matriculation number
Published on Apr 16, 2013
Law professor Tey Tsun Hang, 41, faces six charges of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from Ms Darinne Ko Wen Hu, then a final year law undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), in exchange for giving her good grades in 2010. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Lim Yan Liang And Walter Sim
Whether law professor Tey Tsun Hang had breached the anonymity of his university's marking system was the subject of Tuesday morning's hearing. Six months before former student Darinne Ko was to sit for an exam for a module he taught, Tey received an e-mail with her matriculation number, the court heard.
This, argued Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, breached the university marking system's anonymity safeguard, in which the author of each exam script is only identifiable by the matriculation number rather than a student's name.
But Tey, who is charged with six counts of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from Ms Ko in exchange for boosting her grades, countered that a student's matriculation number is used "for all sorts of registration purposes", and that as a professor he received "many emails" from students that might contain their matriculation numbers.
He conceded however to Mr Jumabhoy's point that Ms Ko's email in question had been sent to his personal account, rather than his NUS account, although he did not reply to it. Earlier, when asked if being the sole lecturer and marker gave him a great deal of power to decide the outcome of his course, Tey replied: "Yes, with power comes responsibility." The DPP countered: "I think that's from Spiderman, isn't it?" To which Tey said: "I'm sorry I did not know that. I'm educated (by you)."
Law prof in sex-for-grades trial says relationship was "loving and affectionate"
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 16 Apr 2013 6:25 PM
UPDATED: 17 Apr 2013 1:27 AM
The law professor defending himself in a sex-for-grades corruption trial took the stand for a second day in court.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The law professor defending himself in a sex-for-grades corruption trial on Tuesday told the court that the relationship between him and his former student was “loving and affectionate”.
Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.
Tey on Tuesday disagreed with the prosecution's case that the gifts in question were corruptly received, and denied showing Ms Ko that he could influence her academic and professional career.
Lead prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy said Tey, in an attempt to impress upon Ms Ko the influence he had, called her up on 31 May 2010 and provided her with confidential information of her class ranking before the results were made public.
Tey however disagreed, saying that the information did not have an impact on Ms Ko. He said that he did not have a need to impress her then as they were already in a relationship.
He also pointed out that Ms Ko signed off an email dated 1 June 2010 with "Love, Darinne".
Going through the list of gifts Ms Ko showered on the accused, Mr Jumabhoy pointed out that Ms Ko was 21 years old at that time, while Tey had a good income.
Tey rebutted, saying that this was why he did not need the gifts.
He stressed that the gifts, including a Mont Blanc pen and tailored shirts, were Ms Ko's way of showing affection and love.
The prosecution also sought to show that the love and affection Tey had repeated during the trial was not mutual.
Pointing to their email correspondences, Mr Jumabhoy said Ms Ko was very affectionate using words like "dearest" or "hi baby".
However this, he said, was a stark contrast to Tey's emails which lacked such affectionate terms.
Mr Jumabhoy then cited an email sent by Tey to Ms Ko about the Frederic Chopin edition Mont Blanc pen she had given him as an example, pointing out that Tey had copied and pasted information of the composer in his reply to Ms Ko.
This prompted the prosecutor to remark that the email was not going to tug at heart strings.
Hearing this Tey laughed, saying that the information was included in the email for Ms Ko to understand the background of Frederic Chopin.
Tey added that while he was not affectionate in the email, he had been in phone conversations with Ms Ko.
Earlier in the day Tey corrected parts of his statements made at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), denying that he ever made certain points.
For example, Tey said in the statements that Ms Ko did not deserve to pass one of her papers marked by him.
However on Tuesday, Tey said he never made such a statement.
He pointed out that Ms Ko was on the Dean's List during her first year at the National University of Singapore’s Law Faculty. Tey said Ms Ko was not on the Dean's List in 2010 when they were dating.
He also reiterated that his relationship with Ms Ko was without corrupt intent.
Sex-for-grades trial: Law professor 'baited' ex-student into giving him sex, gifts
Published on Apr 17, 2013
By Walter Sim And Lim Yan Liang
Law professor Tey Tsun Hang never intended to declare to his employer, the National University of Singapore (NUS), his past relationship with former lover Darinne Ko, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy in the sex-for-grades corruption trial on Wednesday.
Ms Ko's enrolment in a class he taught at NUS should have also raised a red flag for a person of his professional experience.
"Had you declared... the decision would have been taken out of your hand as to whether you can continue to teach her," Mr Jumabhoy asserted. "I suggest to you that you deliberately and consciously sought to hide from the university the fact of your relationship."
But Tey, accused of corruptly receiving sex and gifts from Ms Ko, in exchange for awarding her better grades, replied: "She and I knew the relationship was over. It didn't cross my mind and I was fully confident that there was no way I could compromise the integrity in assessment."
Law prof in sex-for-grades trial to be assessed at IMH
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 18 Apr 2013 1:11 PM
The law professor accused of corruption in the sex-for-grades trial will be going to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for assessment.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The law professor accused of corruption in the sex-for-grades trial will be going to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for assessment.
Tey Tsun Hang, 41, faces six allegations of obtaining gifts and sex from his former student Darinne Ko, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
On Thursday morning, Tey's lawyer made an application for his client to see a forensic psychiatrist at IMH to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
The move comes after Tey felt unwell on Wednesday and had to seek treatment at the National University Hospital.
There, he was diagnosed with acute hyperventilation and was referred to a forensic psychiatrist at IMH.
Not wrong to have relationship with student: law prof in sex-for-grades trial
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 17 Apr 2013 11:12 PM
Tey Tsun Hang on Wednesday said he did not think it was wrong for him to have a relationship with a student.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The law professor defending himself in a sex-for-grades corruption trial on Wednesday said he did not think it was wrong for him to have a relationship with a student.
Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.
Tey on Wednesday told the court that he did not see anything wrong with him continuing to teach Ms Ko, even though their relationship ended in late 2010.
He however admitted that he failed to declare the relationship and gifts to the National University of Singapore (NUS), as required by the university's code of conduct.
Lead prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy then charged that Tey tried to conceal the relationship and gifts from NUS so that he could continue teaching Ms Ko.
Tey denied this, saying that he tried to stop Ms Ko from enrolling in one of his courses after their relationship ended.
Ms Ko enrolled in a course taught by Tey in 2011.
Mr Jumabhoy pointed out that by that point time, Tey had already taught Ms Ko two other subjects.
"Two out of three courses isn't bad, is it Mr Tey?" said the prosecutor, to which Tey replied: "If you are saying I advantaged her in the two courses, the results show that she was not."
Another point of contention was the payment for gifts.
Ms Ko allegedly gave Tey a Frederic Chopin edition Mont Blanc pen, two CYC tailored shirts, and an iPod. She also paid for a group dinner hosted by Tey at an Italian restaurant. The items and dinner amounted to about S$2,415.
During the first tranche of the trial in January this year, Tey said he issued a cheque amounting to S$2,500 in July 2010 before Ms Ko left for an overseas study stint.
However when Ms Ko testified in January, she said no such cheque was given to her.
Tey then said that he made the cheque out to Ms Ko but she refused to accept it, leading him to pay her in cash.
Ms Ko however also denied receiving the cash.
On Wednesday, when asked if he found it odd that Ms Ko denied ever receiving the cheque and cash, Tey said his "heart sank" when he heard her answer.
Tey also told the court on Wednesday that he was aware and concerned that Ms Ko was earning only a small allowance from her internships and thus wanted to pay her back for the gifts she had bought, as well as the dinner for which she paid.
Tey said he did an estimate before the dinner took place as he wanted to reimburse Ms Ko before she left Singapore. Ms Ko was to leave the country on 3 August 2010.
This prompted the prosecution to ask why Tey did not pay for the Mont Blanc pen and the tailored shirts first; Mr Jumabhoy pointed out that by 15 June, 2010, Tey knew the cost of the pen but did not pay her.
Tey replied saying that it was because he did not want to sully their relationship by talking about money.
Mr Jumabhoy however pointed out that on 22 June 2010, while the pair was at the tailor's, Tey could have offered to pay for Ms Ko's shirts but he did not.
Tey explained that he had, at the back of his mind, wanted to pay Ms Ko back for the pen and shirts.
However he added that it was "not nice" to reimburse Ms Ko item by item so he decided to work out the cost of the dinner and issue a cheque for all the gifts.
Tey said he innocently thought to reimburse her in one sitting, which was why he made out the S$2,500 cheque to her.
Another point of contention in court on Wednesday was a revelation by the defence, who said that Ms Ko had asked for Tey to reimburse her S$1,000 upon returning from her overseas stint in 2011. Ms Ko did so after requests from her mother, said Tey.
This lead the prosecution to stress that it was the first time the court heard Ms Ko's mother wanted S$1,000 from Tey, and that it was very different from Ms Ko's court testimony.
Ms Ko had previously testified that Tey did not pay her for the gifts or dinner. The dinner was hosted by Tey but by late 2010 the pair had broken up.
Tey on Wednesday said he paid Ms Ko as he did not want "to quibble" over it.
This led Mr Jumabhoy to point out that Tey "should be aggrieved", adding that nowhere in his statements did Tey ever mention such an important point, which could clear him of the charges.
"But this is an important point!" said Mr Jumabhoy. "The basis for saying 'I'm not corrupt' is 'I have paid back every penny'.”
The prosecutor also pointed out that if Tey's account is accurate, the law professor had gone over and beyond by paying Ms Ko the S$1,000.
This lead Tey to explain again that he did not want to quibble over money.
The prosecution's case is that Tey never paid Ms Ko for any of the gifts nor the dinner.
Ms Ko was saddled with an unpaid bill for six months for a dinner hosted by Tey before she sought reimbursement in early 2011, said the prosecution.
Tey disagreed.
After lunch, the trial was adjourned for about an hour after it started as Tey was sick and had to see a doctor.
Law prof's trial in sex-for-grades case adjourned for second day
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 19 Apr 2013 10:52 AM
The trial of the law professor defending himself in the sex-for-grades corruption case has been adjourned for a second consecutive day. Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is accused of obtaining gifts and sex from former student Darinne Ko, in exchange for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The trial of the law professor defending himself in the sex-for-grades corruption case has been adjourned for a second consecutive day.
Tey Tsun Hang, 41, is accused of obtaining gifts and sex from former student Darinne Ko, in exchange for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
The move to adjourn follows Thursday's application by Tey's lawyer, Peter Low, for his client to see a forensic psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health.
The court heard the forensic psychiatrist was unable to see Tey on Thursday and an appointment will be made over the weekend instead.
Both prosecution and defence will return to court on Monday, when it will be known if Tey is fit to stand trial.
Sex-for-grades trial adjourned, law prof to see forensic psychiatrist
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 22 Apr 2013 3:03 PM
The corruption trial of the law professor implicated in a sex-for-grades case has been adjourned until 6 May.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The corruption trial of the law professor implicated in a sex-for-grades case has been adjourned until 6 May.
The postponement comes after the defence requested time for Tey Tsun Hang to see a forensic psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
A report by IMH on Tey's condition is expected to be ready in two weeks' time and will determine whether Tey is fit to stand trial.
After discussions lasting more than two hours on Monday morning, the district judge decided that trial will resume in May so that Tey can seek assessment from IMH.
The trial was adjourned last week after Tey suffered a relapse of acute hyperventilation.
On Monday, the court heard that Tey has "dissociative amnesia" and is mentally fatigued.
Tey Tsun Hang, who turned 42 on Monday, is defending himself against six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his then-student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 23, between May and July 2010 in return for lifting her grades.
Sex-for-grades trial resumes after law prof declared fit to testify
Former NUS law professor Tey Tsun Hang at court on Jan 10, 2013. Tey is on trial for corruptly obtaining sex and gifts from a former student in exchange for better grades. Today file photo
BY CLAIRE HUANG JINGYI
SINGAPORE — The corruption trial of law professor Tey Tsun Hang resumed today after a two-week break. This follows the adjournment of the sex-for-grades trial in late April.
Tey’s lawyer, Peter Low, had made a request then to the court for his client to seek assessment from a forensic psychiatrist at the Institute of the Mental Health. The move was for the forensic psychiatrist to determine if Tey is fit to stand trial.
This morning, the court heard that Tey is well enough to testify.
With a thick scarf wrapped around his neck, the former district judge continued to take the stand as he was questioned by prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy.
The morning proceedings moved along slowly as Tey refused to answer Mr Jumabhoy’s questions directly, forcing the prosecutor to repeat himself. At one point, Mr Jumabhoy said pointedly that Tey should not “play dumb” in court.
This upset Tey, who demanded that the prosecutor stop the “name-calling” as it was “very insulting”.
Tey, 42, is accused of obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from former student Darinne Ko in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
Judge threatens to issue arrest warrant for absentee witness
POSTED: 07 May 2013 3:48 PM
The judge presiding over the corruption trial of the law professor warned that a warrant of arrest will be issued if a defence witness fails to turn up in court.
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The judge presiding over the corruption trial of the law professor on Tuesday warned that a warrant of arrest will be issued if a defence witness fails to turn up in court.
This is the sternest warning yet from the Chief District Judge, Tan Siong Thye, who indicated that the trial be wrapped up today.
His warning follows a defence witness, Dr Tommy Tan's refusal to testify in court after being subpoenaed. Previously, the court heard Dr Tan underwent an eye operation and was not fit to testify.
On Tuesday, Senior Counsel Peter Low, who is representing Tey Tsun Hang in the sex-for-grades trial, told the court that Dr Tan is unable to testify in court as he was "busy with clients".
However, the judge ordered Mr Low to convey the ramifications to Dr Tan.
Later in the day, the court heard that Dr Tan is only able to attend court on Friday. However, the judge said he is to turn up on Wednesday, if not the warrant of arrest will be issued.
Earlier in the day, four witnesses gave evidence in court, including assistant registrar Colin Seow.
Tey, 42, faces six counts of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from his former student, Darinne Ko, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010. If convicted, Tey could be jailed up to five years and fined S$100,000 on each charge.
Judge in sex-for-grades trial issues warrant of arrest for defence witness
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 07 May 2013 5:51 PM
The judge presiding over the corruption trial of a law professor on Tuesday issued a warrant of arrest, saying defence witness Dr Tommy Tan is to turn up in court on Wednesday.
SINGAPORE: The judge presiding over the corruption trial of a law professor on Tuesday issued a warrant of arrest, saying defence witness Dr Tommy Tan is to turn up in court on Wednesday.
Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye said if Dr Tan fails to show up on Wednesday, he will be arrested to court by the police.
This is the sternest warning yet from the judge, who indicated that the trial be wrapped up on Tuesday.
His warning follows Dr Tan's refusal to testify in court after being subpoenaed.
Previously, the court heard Dr Tan underwent an eye operation and was not fit to testify.
On Tuesday, Senior Counsel Peter Low, who is representing Tey Tsun Hang in the sex-for-grades trial, told the court that Dr Tan is unable to testify in court as he was “busy with clients”.
The judge ordered Mr Low to convey the ramifications to Dr Tan.
Later in the day, the court heard Dr Tan is only able to attend court on Friday.
Four witnesses also gave evidence in court, including assistant registrar Colin Seow.
Tey, 42, faces six counts of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from his former student, Darinne Ko, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
If convicted, Tey could be jailed up to five years and fined S$100,000 on each charge.
Doctor says law professor Tey Tsun Hang under exceptional stress
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 08 May 2013 5:21 PM
The psychiatrist for law professor Tey Tsun Hang, who is accused of corruption, said his patient was under exceptional stress in April last year.
Defence witness in the sex-for-grades trial Dr Tommy Tan (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The psychiatrist for law professor Tey Tsun Hang, who is accused of corruption, said his patient was under exceptional stress in April last year.
Testifying in court on Wednesday as a defence witness, Dr Tommy Tan said this was why Tey was diagnosed with acute stress disorder.
But prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy pointed out that the duration of Tey's symptoms of acute stress disorder did not comply with international classification of the condition.
Dr Tan agreed but said he felt that the guidelines were interpreted wrongly.
At the start of the trial, the chief District Judge cancelled the warrant of arrest made out to Dr Tan.
The judge said the warrant was no longer necessary since Dr Tan has turned up in court.
On Tuesday, the judge had issued a warrant of arrest for Dr Tan after he failed to turn up in court to give evidence, despite being subpoenaed.
Dr Tan told the court on Wednesday that he was not "subpoenaed properly" as the defence did not serve the letter to him directly.
He added that he only read the letter of subpoena on Monday night.
Senior counsel Peter Low begged to differ, saying the doctor was served the subpoena properly in March, before the second tranche of the trial began.
Tey, 42, faces six counts of corruptly obtaining gifts and sex from his former student Darinne Ko in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
He was supposed to testify in court yesterday as a defence witness in the sex-for-grades trial involving law professor Tey Tsun Hang.
But once again, he failed to turn up despite being subpoenaed.
He had failed to appear last month during the trial-within-a-trial due to an eye operation and was told to turn up in court yesterday morning to take the stand with the other defence witnesses.
Frustrated with his repeated refusal to testify in court, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye ordered a warrant of arrest to be issued against Dr Tommy Tan, a former senior consultant with the Institute of Mental Health.
The New Paper understands that under the warrant of arrest, Dr Tan will be taken to court today in handcuffs if he still refuses to attend court.
Read the full report in The New Paper on Wednesday (May 08).
Verdict on sex-for-grades trial to be delivered on May 28
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 14 May 2013 3:55 PM
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The verdict on the corruption trial involving law professor Tey Tsun Hang will be delivered on May 28.
This comes after both the prosecution and defence presented their closing arguments on Tuesday.
The defence gave its oral submissions to court first, saying the gifts which Tey received from former student Darinne Ko were given out of love.
Senior Counsel Peter Low stressed the chronology of events showed that Ms Ko and Tey were in an intimate relationship.
He pointed out that Ms Ko had said so when she took the stand earlier this year.
Reading out parts of the pair's correspondence, Mr Low said it was evident from the way Ms Ko addressed Tey that they were in a mutually loving relationship.
Mr Low asked the chief district judge to accept Ms Ko's evidence in court rather than her statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, citing the unfavourable circumstances under which they were recorded.
The prosecution argued that from the start, Tey had chosen to "inappropriately focus his attention on Darinne".
Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy said the accused singled Ms Ko out in class and gave her confidential information about her ranking in class to lay the foundation for a sexual relationship between them.
Mr Jumabhoy pointed out that defence's claims that the relationship was mutually loving and reciprocated were untrue.
Citing the expensive dinner Tey had hosted, Mr Jumbahoy said Tey had pushed the bill towards Ms Ko, indicating she should pay for it.
As for the S$740 Mont Blanc pen she had given Tey, the prosecution pointed out that the accused had mentioned he lost his pen.
Mr Jumabhoy said this could be inferred from Ms Ko's note to Tey, which indicated the Mont Blanc pen was to replace his lost pen and the only reason she bought him one was because Tey had told her about it.
The prosecution also touched on the cheque book entries.
Previously, Tey insisted he made out a cheque amounting to S$2,500 to reimburse Ms Ko for all the gifts and the dinner.
However, Mr Jumabhoy said Tey was ambivalent in his answers about this.
He said Tey could have produced his bank statement to show that he repaid Ms Ko instead of the cheque book entries.
The prosecution's case is that Tey had lied about paying Ms Ko back.
Mr Jumabhoy said Ms Ko had testified that Tey did not do so until she asked him for S$1,000 in January 2011.
He said Tey had to concoct another lie to cover up the fact that he coughed up another S$1,000 despite having paid Ms Ko back for the gifts and dinner.
He said this was why the law professor said the additional money was for Ms Ko's mother.
As for Ms Ko's grades, the prosecution said it is not disputed that Tey was the sole marker of three of Ms Ko's papers, which included the directed research paper.
The prosecution said Ms Ko's matriculation number had been disclosed to Tey in a private email dated 30 May, 2011. The mail was sent to him before he marked her Property Law paper.
The prosecution's case is that despite the safeguard of anonymous marking at the university, it clearly "did not apply" where Ms Ko and Tey were concerned.
The prosecution submitted that "this undoubtedly tainted the obtainment of the gratifications by the accused with an objectively corrupt element".
As for Tey, the prosecution said he was "evasive and non-committal in his answers" and was not credible.
However, the defence begged to differ. In its written submissions, it stated that there was never any return or reward of any favour in any form from Tey.
It pointed out that Ms Ko had told the court that she was only on the Dean's List in Year One and not the subsequent years at the Law Faculty of the National University of Singapore.
It stressed that Ms Ko's grades were never tampered with and that there was only "a failure to make declarations, but it was all without criminal intent".
This, it said, meant that there's no case against Tey and it urged the court to set the law professor free.
During the two-hour long hearing, Tey was spotted sitting in the dock and reading.
When asked at the end of the hearing if he had any thoughts, he said: "This is the beginning of the end of the entire saga."
The 42-year-old faces six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from Ms Ko, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
Tey could be jailed up to five years and fined S$100,000 on each charge.
Law prof Tey Tsun Hang found guilty in sex-for-grades case
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 28 May 2013 1:33 PM
UPDATED: 29 May 2013 12:04 AM
National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang. (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: The law professor implicated in the sex-for-grades case has been found guilty of corruption after a trial that spanned five months, from January to May.
He will be sentenced on Wednesday.
Tey Tsun Hang, 42, was convicted of all six counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in the form of gifts and sex from his former student Darinne Ko Wen Hui, in return for giving her better grades between May and July 2010.
Following the verdict, the National University of Singapore (NUS) said it has terminated Tey's employment with immediate effect. It said in a statement that Tey had contravened the conditions of his appointment.
The Dean of NUS Faculty of Law, Simon Chesterman, said that NUS staff and students are expected to behave ethically and responsibly.
The case centred on Tey's relationship with his former student. The defence had argued it was a mutually-loving relationship.
But in a 200-page judgement, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye listed reasons why it was one-sided and described it as "an illicit relationship laced with corrupt intent".
He said Tey never once mentioned in his statements (to authorities) that he was in love with Ms Ko, nor had he ever referred to her by her name.
Instead, the judge said Tey would use "female student" and even "star prosecution witness" when he referred to her in his cautioned statements.
The judge said Tey only told the court they were in a romantic relationship "as an afterthought".
He noted that in the second tranche of the trial, Tey changed his tune and claimed they were in love.
The judge pointed out that in his email correspondences to Ms Ko, Tey was always "terse" and "sometimes even curt".
Pointing to Tey's Chinese poem and an email on the background of Frederic Chopin to Ms Ko, the judge said: "When he (Tey) did write to Ms Ko, it was an anti-climatic copy-and-paste exercise."
During the three-hour long judgement, Tey was described as not having any "basic decency" as he made Ms Ko pay his expenses for a trip to the United States. At that time, Ms Ko was an exchange student at Duke University and Tey visited her, but only offered to pay his own airfare.
The judge said this happened when the law professor was earning S$225,000 as at February 2010, while Ms Ko was a mere student.
On Ms Ko's pregnancy, the judge said Tey had told her to abort their child when he found out about it.
The court heard that at that time, Ms Ko was in the US and Tey told her to have an abortion there and that he had no money for the operation. She had to pay US$2,000 herself.
And while Ms Ko may have showered him gifts out of love and affection, the judge agreed with the prosecution that the 23-year-old was also trying to get into Tey's good books.
The judge also impeached the key prosecution witness' credibility on the reasons for getting the gifts -- the Monblanc pen, tailored shirts, iPod, as well as the payment of a dinner bill.
He said there were serious discrepancies in these areas between her CPIB statements and testimony.
The judge said she negated the corrupt intent and told the court she gave the gifts without intent to seek special favours. This differed from her first statement to the CPIB.
The judge said he is of the view that Ms Ko's first and second statements to the authorities were reliable and her third was not.
"Sometime after her second statement on 28 April 2012, she realised that her first statement had incriminated herself and exposed her to possible charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
"She could be charged as a giver who corruptly gave gratifications to the accused. She then decided to retract the incriminating parts of her statement," said Judge Tan.
But the judge highlighted that it is irrelevant to determine whether Ms Ko had breached the Act, and that the court should instead focus on Tey's corrupt intent.
Previously, Tey had argued that there was no corrupt intent as Ms Ko was an "A" student who did not need him to give her good grades.
But the court found that Tey had great influence over Ms Ko and the status of the two were "clearly disproportionate".
The judge said favouring Ms Ko need not be extreme. It could just mean bumping her grades up slightly from a "B+" to "A-".
In court, two professors were asked of their view of Ms Ko's directed research paper. One said he would give her a "B+" while the other said he would give either an "A-" or an "A". Tey had awarded Ms Ko an "A".
The judge stressed that whether Tey had shown favour to Ms Ko or not was not vital. What was important was that he could influence her grades, and showed her he could, in order to obtain the gifts.
As for anonymous marking practised at NUS to deter corruption and favouritism, the judge said: "The integrity of the anonymous marking system no longer applied to Ms Ko as the accused would have recognised her handwriting, as she had sent him several handwritten love cards.
"When a professor and a student are in a relationship, like in this case, the virtues of anonymous marking no longer existed."
Another point of argument was Tey's claim that he reimbursed Ms Ko for the gifts and dinner bill with a S$2,500 cheque.
But the judge found this to be untrue -- first, because Ms Ko denied unequivocally ever receiving the reimbursement. Second, that if Tey had repaid her, she would have told the court and would have been exonerated of bribing her lecturer.
On Tey's part, the judge said this was the key to proving his innocence, but he did not inform the CPIB of the reimbursement for the gifts.
The judge made it plain that the defence of reimbursement was an "afterthought" as it was "impossible to estimate the cost of dinner at Garibaldi on 21 July, 2012, before it happened".
Judge Tan said: "The accused could simply have produced his bank statements to show his withdrawal of the money (the $2,500 reimbursement), but he chose not to do so.
"As he would have produced his bank statements if they supported his case, it stands to reason that his bank statements would, if produced, be unfavourable to him."
On Tey's mental condition, the judge rejected psychiatrist Dr Tommy Tan's diagnosis that Tey was suffering from acute stress disorder. The judge said it was "unreliable" and "not objective".
In a report dated 2 May, 2013, forensic psychiatrist Dr Bharat Saluja said Tey "does not suffer from any psychotic disorder or any organic brain disorder".
Judge Tan said: "By a process of elimination, since the accused was not suffering from severe brain damage, organic disorders, or chronic and severe psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, it must stand to reason that the accused was malingering."
The judge said Tey was also "dishonest" not only in court, but also to Ms Ko, CPIB officers and medical experts. He said a "depraved" Tey "clearly took undue advantage" of Ms Ko.
The judge said secrecy and serendipitousness are common characteristics of someone with criminal intent and that "evidence against the accused was overwhelming".
The court also rejected Tey's allegations that his statements to the CPIB were made under duress.
The judge also took into account that Tey had admitted that he breached the university's code of conduct, but continued to hide this from the school.
He also said the university is a public body as it's an instrument to implement government policy. This meant that Tey was a public servant and the presumption of corruption applied to him.
Judge Tan said: "In this case, the presumption of corruption under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act operated against the accused. In other words, he was assumed to have received the gratifications in the six charges as an inducement for showing favour to Ms Ko in his assessment of her academic performance.
"Even without this presumption, there was sufficient evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt his corrupt intention and guilty knowledge. For the above reasons, I came to the irresistible conclusion that the accused had the corrupt intention and guilty knowledge in all of the six charges against him."
In mitigation, Tey's lawyer Peter Low asked for a stiff fine. He said if the court had to give a custodial sentence, to make it a short one.
During the hearing, Tey was seen listening intently to the judge as he sat in the dock with his head bowed low.
Once the session was over, Tey was greeted by his supporters, most of whom are his colleagues. They were visibly upset with his conviction and teared when they hugged him.
Tey will be sentenced on Wednesday. He could be jailed up to five years and fined up to S$100,000 on each charge.
SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) has terminated Tey Tsun Hang's employment with immediate effect.
The termination comes after Tey was found guilty of corruption by a court on Tuesday.
In a statement, NUS said under the terms and conditions of his appointment at NUS, termination may be effected without prior notice and without payment of any compensation should Tey be convicted by a court of law of any crime which in the opinion of the university is likely to bring NUS into disrepute.
The university may also exercise its rights of summary dismissal should Tey be guilty of misconduct or gross impropriety; or if he fails to perform his duties and/or obligations or observe any of the terms and conditions of his appointment.
NUS noted that the prosecution did not allege that grades were tampered with, despite the gravity of Tey's offences.
It stressed that grades and degrees shape the future of its graduates and its reputation as an institution.
NUS is conducting its own internal review to ensure the integrity of the NUS grading system. So far it has found no evidence of any irregularities.
In a letter to the NUS Law Alumni, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Mr Simon Chesterman said NUS staff and students are expected to behave ethically and responsibly.
Mr Chesterman said the university has reminded all staff of the critical importance of maintaining an appropriate relationship with students.
NUS takes a serious view of any misconduct and will take strong disciplinary action against individuals who breach these standards.
Mr Chesterman added that his topmost priority has been the welfare of the students throughout the episode.
He assured that NUS has in place various channels for students to raise concerns about academic and personal matters.
