Wife stands by ex-teacher who had sex with student

Her husband had pleaded guilty to sex with a minor.

She also knew the last time he had sex with the girl was just two weeks before they registered their marriage in May last year.

But as her husband waited to be sentenced yesterday, she pleaded his case in a three-page letter.

"As a wife, I have chose to remain committed to this marriage whatever the outcome of the hearing.

"After a one-week separation, we have moved back together and renewed our vows in the quietness of our home," she said.

Yesterday the former teacher, now 33, was jailed for four years and nine months.

He had pleaded guilty last month to four counts of having sex with his former student, then 15, and one count of performing an obscene act with her.

Five other changes for similar offences were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The man cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl.

The impact on the girl has been devastating. When he got married, she started to hurt herself.

She stopped eating while struggling to cope. She scratched herself until she bled.

It was so bad, she had to be hospitalised because she was depressed and had suicidal tendencies - all because she had to keep her relationship a secret and cope with the stresses of school at the same time.

The man was her form teacher in 2011 and also taught her English literature the following year.

A high-flyer who was promoted rapidly after winning a teaching scholarship, he rose to become the head of department for character and citizenship at the school.

Their relationship came to light after the girl told her therapists about her ordeal. Her parents then made a police report.

The teacher was suspended before he resigned from his job.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy said the teacher and the student first started communicating with each other via their mobile phones and Facebook in 2011.

CONFIDED IN HIM

She started confiding in him about her personal problems after they went on an overseas trip that the school organised in June 2012.

The pair became intimate for the first time in his parents' flat about three months later.

Before that, he had given her a coin and told her to flip it to decide whether they should remain platonic friends or start a physical relationship.

He then French-kissed and caressed the girl when she decided to stay following the coin toss.

The man's lawyer, Mr Roy Neighbour, said that there was "no moral corruption of the (girl)".

But District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan felt otherwise.

He said that there was a strong element of moral corruption and stressed that the man had exploited the girl's trust.

In her letter, the man's wife said he had been receiving counselling. He also had the support of her parents.

For each charge of having sexual intercourse with his student, the man could 
have been jailed up to 10 years and fined.