He displayed his usual calmness when he arrived in court with his entourage of law professionals.
But unlike his past two court appearances, Tey Tsun Hang, 41, the law lecturer at the centre of an alleged sex-for-grades scandal, declined to speak to the media yesterday.
All he told The New Paper was "I have to go through the motions" and headed straight to the courtroom.
The one-hour pre-trial conference was closed to the media.
In his previous court appearances, Tey had handwritten notes prepared for the media.
But yesterday, he made a conscious effort to refrain from speaking and at one point, used his hand to make a zipping action over his lips.
Tey’s lawyer said that a nine-day trial has been tentatively set for mid-October.