S'pore man, 27, claims teacher accused him of sexual misconduct in school, sues her for causing him to drop out, demands S$500,000

A 27-year-old man, Wen Shang En (transliteration), sued his female secondary school teacher for defamation, claiming that she had accused him of sexual misconduct in front of the entire school, which resulted in harassment and bullying.

Wen said this led him to drop out of school, Shin Min Daily News reported.

He is seeking S$500,000 in damages.

However, his teacher, Zhuo Ying Qi (transliteration) rejected the claims, and stated that she was merely doing her job as a form teacher to guide students.

Man filed lawsuit

Shin Min reported that Wen had filed a lawsuit against Zhuo, alleging defamation, negligence, misconduct causing harm, and severe mental distress caused by harassment and bullying.

Wen previously attended Compassvale Secondary School

According to Shin Min, Wen previously attended Compassvale Secondary School.

Zhuo was both his form teacher and English teacher from 2011 to 2013.

Wen claimed that because he was accused of sexual misconduct in front of the entire school, he was subjected to harassment and bullying by his schoolmates and eventually dropped out of school.

As a result, he claimed that he continues to suffer from psychological and mental trauma to this day and is unable to study, work or concentrate.

He is demanding S$500,000 in compensation from Zhuo.

Teacher said man had anger management issues

However, Zhuo refuted his claims, stating that she did not neglect her duties as a teacher, Shin Min reported.

She stated that Wen had anger management issues and was addicted to video games and pornography at the time.

As such, she had referred Wen to a counsellor.

She added that when Wen played truant, she would call his mother to express her concern and give Wen's mother advice.

When Wen requested to drop out of school and take his O-level examinations as a private candidate, Zhuo claimed that she had tried to talk him out of it, but ultimately failed to do so.

Zhuo claimed she was unaware of allegations against her

Zhuo added that she had transferred to a different school in November 2015, and was unaware of the allegations made by Wen against her, as reported by Shin Min.

She added that Wen's losses were the result of his own actions, and he also had no evidence to back up his claims.

According to Shin Min, Wen also sued the then-vice-principal of Compassvale Secondary School, accusing him of defamation.

However, the vice-principal had requested that the lawsuit be dismissed on Sep. 2 via his lawyer.

Spread Zhuo's phone number on Telegram

According to Shin Min, Wen previously shared Zhuo's phone number on the Telegram chat platform, claiming that she provided free sexual services, causing her to be harassed frequently.

Zhuo also claimed that Wen sent her a text message in October 2014, saying that he would harm her family.

Wen also complained to the Ministry of Education (MOE), accusing Zhuo of misconduct.

Zhuo said Wen had created several fake email addresses under her identity and used those email addresses to send obscene photos to her colleagues.

Due to the constant harassment, Zhuo made three police reports, and was later notified in 2021 that the police had arrested Wen.

Wen was sentenced to 15 weeks' jail in 2022, after facing 13 charges against him, including violating the Protection from Harassment Act.

Hoped to resolve the incident amicably

Zhuo said she had hoped to resolve the incident amicably and tried to contact Wen to understand the situation better, but Wen insisted on filing a lawsuit, Shin Min reported.

She believed that Wen did it to force her to appear in court and cause her mental trauma.

As a result of the constant harassment, Zhuo said she suffered a mental breakdown in 2015 and is currently receiving treatment at the Institute of Mental Health.

She added that she was also diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and that her condition has worsened due to the lawsuit.

Top photos via Canva, Wikipedia