In a horrific incident of Singapore school abuse, an ex-teacher was found guilty to charges of indecency. His crime? He made a 9-year-old boy show him his underwear. But that is not it. He also exposed his own underwear and made his pupil watch.
Cases of paedophilia are not very common in Singapore, owing to strict penalties. However, this ex-teacher apparently did not think much before committing the act.
As the report says, this primary school teacher asked a pupil to carry some of his stuff back to the staffroom. On the way, he handed him over an underwear that he had purchased. He asked the pupil to try it on and then forced him to expose himself. This went on from September 2014 to January 2015.
In January, the teacher went a notch up and exposed his own underwear to the pupil. The victim, petrified by this, never told anyone. An aunt jokingly told him to stay safe from ‘pervert’ school teachers. That is when he confided everything to her.
It makes us think, what is going on with the education system? Whatever happened to the sacred relationship between a teacher and a student? It is rotten eggs like these that give the noble profession a bad name.
I cannot help but feel judgemental. And then I start to think what would happen to the victim. He must have had suffered a great trauma. Incidents like this create a lasting impact on young minds. I thank the Superior Powers that the victim was not abused physically in any manner.
This brings us to the concept of good and bad touch. Singaporean students spend more time at schools, enrichment classes, extra lessons than the students in other countries. This, added with the Asian pedagogy, makes it less likely for the students to come clean if something like this happens. They also spend a lot of time in the care of hired help. That is why it is paramount that they understand a good and a bad touch.
A good and a bad touch
This is for the kids to listen:
Listen kids. The world is a beautiful place. But there are wolves as there are sheep. The wolves want to hurt innocent souls like you, but we are not going to let this happen.
How do you spot a wolf?
You must be wondering by now what I am talking about. Wolves are not really wolves. They are just cunning people- men and women, who want to hurt you, someone like from the story of the Little Red Riding Hood.
Don’t worry. You have not done anything wrong. It is just their nature to hurt kids like you.
False and cunning
A wolf will try to show an interest in you. He/she will praise you for something you know you don’t deserve a praise. They will be people who spend more time with you: your teachers, maids, even your routine school bus drivers.
If you feel something is not right, you need to shout out aloud! No one is going to punish you for that! If someone is trying to touch you where he shouldn’t like for example on the chest or the bum or the crotch, you need to raise an alarm. NO ONE should be touching you there, except when your doctor is examining you or when your parents are giving you a bath.
If someone tries to touch you inappropriately, just go and find some adult and tell them about it. If it is a teacher, tell your headmaster. If it is the headmaster, come home and tell your parents. This is not a matter of shame, no matter what the wolf tells you. You need to protect yourself and your friends from bad people like the wolves.
For the parents
You kid needs to trust you. So get into a habit of listening to him. Do not dismiss his concerns as something foolish. Contact the right authorities if you feel something is not right.
Back to the story, the teacher was arrested and underwent a trial. He was jailed for 12 months in a hearing this week on 28 September 2016. I sincerely hope that the victim recovers from this mental shock.
Also read: Are you sure your daycare is safe for your kids?
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