S'pore violin teacher, 72, sexually assaults girl, 9, during private lesson, gets 9 months' jail

A 72-year-old former violin teacher in Singapore was sentenced to nine months' jail on Jun. 30 for sexually assaulting a then nine-year-old girl during a violin lesson at his home.

The offender was 64-years-old at the time of the offence.

According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, he pleaded guilty to one charge of outrage of modesty on Tuesday.

He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim's identity.

The case

Citing court documents, Zaobao reported that in 2013, the victim's mother enrolled her daughter in violin lessons taught by the offender at a community club.

In 2016, the lessons were moved to the offender's home, where he conducted weekly one-on-one sessions comprising a 30-minute performance lesson and a 15-minute music theory lesson.

The victim's mother would drop her off before each lesson and pick her up afterwards.

The music theory lessons were conducted at the dining table in the living room.

During one of the theory lessons in 2018, the defendant had placed his hands on the victim's thighs and private area while she was answering questions, and sexually assaulted her over her clothing for about five minutes.

The victim, who was only nine then, did not understand the offender's actions at the time.

She only realised she had been sexually assaulted when she turned 12.

She later revealed what happened to her mother and a social worker in March 2025, and her mother subsequently lodged a police report.

The victim was later referred for counselling, but declined it due to the cost.

Abused his position as her teacher

According to Zaobao, to this day, the victim refuses to discuss the assault.

The prosecution argued that the offender had abused his position as the victim's violin teacher to commit the offence, betraying the trust the victim's parents placed in him.

It also pointed to the victim's young age at the time of the offence, and sought a jail term of between 10 and 11 months.

In mitigation, the offender's lawyer said his client had apologised to the victim about a week after the incident, before she confided in her mother and a police report was lodged.

While acknowledging that the apology could not undo the harm suffered by the victim, the lawyer argued that it demonstrated his client's remorse and urged the court to exercise leniency in sentencing.