It’s extremely disheartening when religious leaders in Singapore hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. Notable scandals involving prominent religious figures include the corruption scandals featuring the Venerable Shi Ming Yi in 2008 and more recently, the senior members of City Harvest Church including the church founder, Pastor Kong Hee in 2012. It is only the start of 2013 and it looks like another religious figure is about to find himself in hot soup.
According to a report published on the Straits Times website, an assistant pastor of a church had sex with a 15-year-old student and was charged with the offence on Monday. The pastor is reportedly a 45-year-old married man with 3 kids of his own. The pastor is now facing three charges for sexual offences. A gag order has been imposed, preventing the disclosure of any details which might result in the minor being identified. As such, the names of the pastor and the 15-year-old teenager are still a mystery. Even the name of the church is still unknown.
An article published on todayonline has however revealed some sordid details of the scandal. The minor, who is a member of the pastor’s church, performed oral sex on the pastor on two occasions. On one occasion, the offence happened in the church in the afternoon where the minor was made to perform oral sex on the pastor in mid-October in 2011. On another occasion, the offence happened at a park near Bartley MRT station between September and October of 2011 where the girl performed oral sex on the pastor. The pastor also held the minor’s hands and made her rub his private parts at the park.
Even if the sexual acts between both parties was consensual, it is still considered an offence in Singapore since the girl is still underage. The pastor could be looking at a jail term of up to 10-years if convicted. Although little is known about the identities of the pastor and the minor, speculation is rife among netizens over their identities. There also seems to be particular interest among the public in finding out the identity of the church involved. Regardless of who the perpectuator is, it is still disheartening news for the religious community.
Lessons from this disheartening case
There are lessons to be learnt from this disturbing case. Time and time again, these scandals show us that even highly respected figures can be involved in shocking scandals. No matter how prominent or religious someone is, they are still capable of betraying our trust. Teach your child to judge for himself and parents should also keep in mind that just because someone is highly respected doesn’t mean that they are a saint.
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