By Leong Wee Keat | Posted:
16 December 2010 1316 hrs
SINGAPORE: A former primary school teacher was on
Thursday jailed 10 months by a District Court for sending a series
of lewd messages to male teenagers to get them to commit indecent
acts.
Thirty-three-year-old Chock Soon Seng committed the offences
between 2008 and May 2009 when he was teaching at a government
primary school, the Court heard.
He was single and had taught for the past six years at the time of
the offences.
Chock met his first victim, a secondary two student, through an
online chat portal in 2008.
Chock identified himself as "Alex".
A few days later, Chock sent the victim, then 13, a lewd message
and suggested they perform an indecent act together.
The boy declined the suggestion but Chock repeatedly messaged the
victim requesting to meet up.
Chock followed up with a video call asking the boy to perform a
sexual act for him to see.
The boy hung up.
On October 2, 2008, Chock sent more than 40 SMSes in a final
attempt to get the boy to perform the act via a video call.
Feeling disturbed, agitated and disgusted, the boy reported the
matter to his mother and lodged a police report the next day.
Seven months later, Chock again attempted the same ruse on a
secondary one student, who was studying at an adjacent school where
the ex-teacher worked.
The boy reported the matter to the police and his school's
discipline master.
Following a telephone conversation with the discipline master,
Chock agreed to show up at a neighbourhood police post an hour
later.
When confronted, Chock admitted sending lewd messages and
apologised to the boy's parents.
In mitigation, Chock's lawyer, Mr Anthony Lim, said the former
teacher was truly remorseful.
Chock did not target his own students nor did he persist after the
victims blocked his calls, added Mr Lim.
The lawyer sought a week's jail and fine for his client.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Edmund Lam said the former primary
school teacher "led a double life of trying to defile the innocence
of and corrupt young persons".
"He would have clearly known that procuring such acts over a video
call (with) school children was clearly wrong and abhorrent," added
Mr Lam.
Chock could have been jailed up to two years and fined S$5,000 for
each of his two offences.
Chock has appealed against his sentence and is now out on S$20,000
bail.
-CNA/wk
