Former NUS lecturer given 43 months’ jail
He is sentenced to 43 months' jail for crime at 1999 school camp
Former National University of Singapore lecturer Chan Cheng, who was on the run for 17 years after molesting five teenage boys at a school camp, was yesterday sentenced to three years and seven months' jail.
Chan, who is now 59, was found guilty of five counts of molestation last week by District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan.
Seven other molestation charges involving four boys were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The prosecution yesterday called for the court to sentence Chan to 50 months' jail, which includes an additional five months in lieu of caning, as he is above the age limit to be caned.
"The only reason the accused has escaped caning is that he absconded. He should not be given the benefit of this," Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew argued.
In his mitigating plea, defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary urged the judge to be "as lenient as possible" as Chan had a "sterling" record up till 1999. Mr Tiwary said Chan had continued to contribute and help young teenagers, even when he was in Malaysia.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Shaiffudin said it was "particularly egregious" that Chan had abused the trust and authority vested in him by the school and the boys' parents.
He added that there was also premeditation on Chan's part in carrying out the 12 offences involving nine boys who were 13 years old at the time.
Chan reportedly had run a company called Procamps, which organised camps for children during the school holidays.
In June 1999, Chan molested the Secondary 1 students during a three-day school camp at Guillemard Camp in Old Airport Road.
A police report was lodged and Chan was arrested on Nov 27, 1999.
However, he later absconded and fled illegally to Malaysia while he was released on bail.
Chan's employment contract was also terminated by NUS after he failed to turn up for work.
It is not known how Chan was caught in Malaysia but he was finally sent back to Singapore on Dec 7, 2016.
NO CANING
Judge Shaiffudin said he would have sentenced Chan to a total of 38 months' jail and 10 to 11 strokes of the cane.
However, as Chan is older than 50, he cannot be caned. Instead, the judge imposed an additional five months' jail in lieu of caning, bringing the jail term to a total of 43 months.
Chan's lawyer, Mr Tiwary, indicated that his client plans to appeal against the conviction and asked for bail to be extended.
Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew did not oppose but requested that the court increase the bail amount by $30,000 to $90,000.
Chan is currently out on bail.
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