SINGAPORE — While working as a teaching assistant at an after-school care centre from 2013 to 2020, a man abused his position to get close to about a dozen boys before sexually preying on them.
On Monday , the High Court sentenced the man, now aged 30, to 42 years’ jail with the maximum 24 strokes of the cane. The principal of the centre began giving him an allowance from 2013 for the work he did, which also included accompanying children on outings.While working there, he gained the trust of the boys by buying them food, gifts mobile phone game credits, and whatever he observed that they liked.
She later checked the boy's mobile phone and saw that the man had sent him messages regularly and mostly late at night, including one that said “I love you, baby”. Separately, the man also used social networking application Grindr to find other males for sex. He found one who was under 16 years old, among others.