SINGAPORE, Oct 13 — A 64-year-old teacher was sentenced to three weeks in jail after he sent sexually explicit messages to his 15-year-old male student about sex toys.

On Thursday (Oct 12), the man pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 16.

The offender and victim cannot be named due to a court order protecting the victim’s identity.

TODAY has asked the Ministry of Education for comment on the man’s status as a teacher now that he has been convicted and sentenced.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lee Da Zhuan told the court that the teacher knew the victim in 2020 when the boy was a Secondary 1 student.

They had a teacher-student relationship.

Towards the end of last year, the teacher started to send phone text messages to the student on sexual topics that included the use of sex toys.

Court documents did not state how long the teacher had been having such text exchanges with the student.

However, DPP Lee mentioned two occasions on November 28 last year and January 28 this year when the teacher sent the boy sexually explicit messages, including a video of a sex toy.

"The victim was alarmed by the accused’s messages and felt sexually exploited,” DPP Lee said.

On February 27, the victim made a police report of his teacher’s actions.

The prosecution sought a sentence of at least one month, noting that the teacher had abused the victim’s trust.

"The accused had acted exactly the opposite of his responsibility towards the victim as his teacher by taking advantage of the victim, sexually texting the victim on multiple occasions,” DPP Lee said.

For sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 16, the teacher could have been jailed up to seven years or been fined up to S$10,000, or both. — TODAY