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IN 2007, the 11-year-old boy's life changed.
His tutor, who had taught him since he was six, began hugging and kissing him on his mouth, face, body and even feet.
One day, he was asked to remain behind after the tuition class. After the other students left, the tutor locked the door and told him to remove his clothes and lie on the floor.
The tutor removed his own clothes and kissed him all over. The kissing developed into touching, and the teacher eventually performed oral sex on him.
Even after the boy completed his primary education and stopped attending the tuition classes, the abuse continued at the tutor's request.
The tutor, 50, who is single, pleaded guilty to five charges of sexual penetration of a minor on Monday.
Another 29 similar charges, including that of committing indecent acts with children and using criminal force, as well as one charge of possession of obscene video files, will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The tutor told a psychiatrist that a ghost had instructed him to commit the offences.
The man, who has been a tutor for more than 20 years, cannot be named to protect his victims' identities. He had run a tuition centre, operated by a Residents' Committee, in the north since 1990.
Preyed on boys
He preyed on seven boys, aged between eight and 15, all of them his students.
The incidents, which included kissing them, touching them and touching himself in front of them, took place between May 2007 and November 2009.
The abuse carried on even after they were no longer his students.
Sometime in October 2009, a former student went to the tuition centre looking for him.
Dressed in his school uniform, he arrived around 2.45pm. The tutor, who was alone, locked the door and they went to a corner outside the man's office.
They stripped naked and the boy lay on the floor while the teacher took photographs and videos of him.
The man then sexually abused the boy before the latter left for home around 3.30pm.
Sometime in September or October that year, another student went to the tuition centre 45 minutes before his class, after receiving a call from the tutor.
When he arrived, the tutor kissed him on the mouth and blindfolded him before undressing him. He then abused the boy, who was later told to get dressed and unlock the door so the other students could enter.
The man was arrested at his home on Nov 9, 2009, after two of his victims made police reports that they had been molested by their tutor.
The tutor confessed his crimes to the police, and told them that he had taken photos and videos of the boys with his mobile phone.
The court heard yesterday that the tutor's lewd acts had resulted in one victim feeling "gay" and different from other students.
He had not liked what his tutor did to him but had not resisted as he feared the man, who had taken pictures of what they did.
The boy told a psychiatrist that he had been molested by the tutor from Primary 1 to Primary 3.
In court yesterday, the tutor, the youngest of 12 children, kept his gaze on the ground as the charges were read to him before pleading guilty in a soft voice.
The public seating area was filled by his 11 siblings, as well as his nieces and nephews whom he had tutored.
Mental issues
Among the documents tendered to the court were two psychiatric evaluations.
One stated that the tutor was found to be suffering from schizotypal disorder, a mental condition, while the other found he had traits of schizotypal personality. The symptoms of schizotypal disorder include odd beliefs.
In a medical report, the tutor had told a psychiatrist that he had been instructed by a ghost boy to commit the offences.
He admitted that he did not necessarily have to obey the ghost and had on occasion not followed the ghost's instructions.
In addition, the man had told the psychiatrist that if his students resisted, he would not carry on. He also said he felt guilty and remorseful after his acts, which he knew were wrong.
He said he was not a homosexual and had girlfriends in the past.
The medical report stated that the man did not have paedophilia, or he would have sexually abused minors much earlier in his career as a tutor.
Instead, the paedophilic activities had been caused by his schizotypal disorder.
However, he was said to not be of unsound mind at the time of the offences.
In his mitigation, his lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, said his client had cooperated fully with the police to aid investigations.
He had also confessed to offences involving more victims than known by the police.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Chua Ying Hong said the man had violated the trust placed in him by the Residents' Committee, his seven victims and their parents.
She said he had also abused his position of responsibility towards the young students, corrupted them and robbed them of their innocence.
The prosecution submitted that the man be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in jail. The case has been adjourned to a later date.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
His tutor, who had taught him since he was six, began hugging and kissing him on his mouth, face, body and even feet.
One day, he was asked to remain behind after the tuition class. After the other students left, the tutor locked the door and told him to remove his clothes and lie on the floor.
The tutor removed his own clothes and kissed him all over. The kissing developed into touching, and the teacher eventually performed oral sex on him.
Even after the boy completed his primary education and stopped attending the tuition classes, the abuse continued at the tutor's request.
The tutor, 50, who is single, pleaded guilty to five charges of sexual penetration of a minor on Monday.
Another 29 similar charges, including that of committing indecent acts with children and using criminal force, as well as one charge of possession of obscene video files, will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The tutor told a psychiatrist that a ghost had instructed him to commit the offences.
The man, who has been a tutor for more than 20 years, cannot be named to protect his victims' identities. He had run a tuition centre, operated by a Residents' Committee, in the north since 1990.
Preyed on boys
He preyed on seven boys, aged between eight and 15, all of them his students.
The incidents, which included kissing them, touching them and touching himself in front of them, took place between May 2007 and November 2009.
The abuse carried on even after they were no longer his students.
Sometime in October 2009, a former student went to the tuition centre looking for him.
Dressed in his school uniform, he arrived around 2.45pm. The tutor, who was alone, locked the door and they went to a corner outside the man's office.
They stripped naked and the boy lay on the floor while the teacher took photographs and videos of him.
The man then sexually abused the boy before the latter left for home around 3.30pm.
Sometime in September or October that year, another student went to the tuition centre 45 minutes before his class, after receiving a call from the tutor.
When he arrived, the tutor kissed him on the mouth and blindfolded him before undressing him. He then abused the boy, who was later told to get dressed and unlock the door so the other students could enter.
The man was arrested at his home on Nov 9, 2009, after two of his victims made police reports that they had been molested by their tutor.
The tutor confessed his crimes to the police, and told them that he had taken photos and videos of the boys with his mobile phone.
The court heard yesterday that the tutor's lewd acts had resulted in one victim feeling "gay" and different from other students.
He had not liked what his tutor did to him but had not resisted as he feared the man, who had taken pictures of what they did.
The boy told a psychiatrist that he had been molested by the tutor from Primary 1 to Primary 3.
In court yesterday, the tutor, the youngest of 12 children, kept his gaze on the ground as the charges were read to him before pleading guilty in a soft voice.
The public seating area was filled by his 11 siblings, as well as his nieces and nephews whom he had tutored.
Mental issues
Among the documents tendered to the court were two psychiatric evaluations.
One stated that the tutor was found to be suffering from schizotypal disorder, a mental condition, while the other found he had traits of schizotypal personality. The symptoms of schizotypal disorder include odd beliefs.
In a medical report, the tutor had told a psychiatrist that he had been instructed by a ghost boy to commit the offences.
He admitted that he did not necessarily have to obey the ghost and had on occasion not followed the ghost's instructions.
In addition, the man had told the psychiatrist that if his students resisted, he would not carry on. He also said he felt guilty and remorseful after his acts, which he knew were wrong.
He said he was not a homosexual and had girlfriends in the past.
The medical report stated that the man did not have paedophilia, or he would have sexually abused minors much earlier in his career as a tutor.
Instead, the paedophilic activities had been caused by his schizotypal disorder.
However, he was said to not be of unsound mind at the time of the offences.
In his mitigation, his lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, said his client had cooperated fully with the police to aid investigations.
He had also confessed to offences involving more victims than known by the police.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Chua Ying Hong said the man had violated the trust placed in him by the Residents' Committee, his seven victims and their parents.
She said he had also abused his position of responsibility towards the young students, corrupted them and robbed them of their innocence.
The prosecution submitted that the man be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in jail. The case has been adjourned to a later date.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
