SINGAPORE – A teenage religious teacher at a mosque met a 12-year-old girl during lessons he conducted and went on to spend extra time with the child to get to know her better.
The girl’s mother made a complaint with the mosque when she found out about what he had done, and he was removed from his post.
Despite this, the former religious teacher and the girl later entered into a romantic relationship, and she performed a sexual act on him in May.
The 19-year-old offender, who cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty on Dec 16 to committing an indecent act with a child.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yohanes Ng told the court that the offender became the girl’s new religious teacher in early 2025 and taught three classes to the victim in a group setting involving five to six pupils.
He then obtained all of the pupils’ contact details and created a chat group with them to send lesson notes.
“After one of the religious lessons, (he) spent some extra time with the victim to get to know her better and bought her lunch and some chocolates,” the DPP said.
When she returned home, she told her mother what happened.
