Ex-religious teacher in S'pore admits to committing indecent acts with student, 12 at Tampines car park

An ex-religious teacher, 19, pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 to committing an indecent act with a child, then aged 12.

He taught the girl in three classes and proceeded to pay her extra attention and time to deepen their connection, reported The Straits Times.

Her mother found out about his actions, and he was removed from his post after a complaint was made to the mosque where he was working.

However, the now former religious teacher romantically pursued the girl, and they entered into a romantic relationship in May 2025.

The offender cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim.

Girl's mother sensed that man's intentions were inappropriate

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim attended religious classes at a mosque every Sunday morning and in April 2025, the man became her new religious teacher.

He taught groups of five to six pupils at a time and conducted three lessons with the girl in this group setting.

In the course of teaching his classes, he collected all of his students ' contact details and formed a chat group to send them lesson notes.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yohanes Ng stated that after a religious class, the offender "spent extra time with the victim to get to know her better and bought her lunch and some chocolates".

When the girl went home, she told her mother about her day spent with the offender.

Her mother found his behaviour of spending personal time beyond religious classes inappropriate, and she told the mosque that, making a complaint.

Despite this, the offender continued contact with the girl in secret and entered into a romantic relationship.

Went to multi-storey carpark to commit acts

Court documents stated that on May 8, the man met the victim after she had finished school and brought her to a multi-storey carpark in Tampines.

At the carpark, the offender began kissing and hugging her despite her initial discomfort.

The court heard that the offender groped her chest over her clothes, stated The Straits Times.

They met again five days later on May 13 at the staircase landing of a Housing Development Board (HDB) block.

The offender repeated his actions from the previous meeting and attempted to remove the victim's top, but she stopped him from doing so.

He then requested that the girl perform oral sex on him, but she refused, according to court documents.

She eventually performed another sexual act on him.

They eventually broke up after their relationship was found out.

On Jul. 13, the girl's mother made a police report after her child recounted her experience with the offender.

On Dec. 16, the court called for reports to assess the offender's suitability for both reformative training and probation, stated The Straits Times.

Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.

Court documents calling for a Reformative Training Centre (RTC) Suitability report also highlighted that the accused got to know the victim from a position of power as a religious teacher.

He will be sentenced in January.

Top photo from Canva.