SINGAPORE, April 29 — A Singapore court on Tuesday convicted a 41-year-old former teacher of sexually grooming a 13-year-old student and committing indecent acts against her, after finding that he had cultivated a calculated false father-daughter relationship with the girl to mask his predatory intentions.

The victim was his Secondary 2 student in 2022, when she was between 13 and 14 years old.

The teacher met the student frequently under the guise of helping her with schoolwork, during which he patted her head and touched her hand, CNA reported.

Text messages presented as evidence showed the accused calling the victim “dear,” “precious,” and “daughter,” telling her he loved her and complimenting her appearance.

School staff had warned the teacher in November 2022 about the inappropriate relationship, yet he continued meeting the girl and suggested switching their chats to Instagram’s vanishing mode to avoid leaving a text trail.

The prosecution argued that the accused had carried out a calculated series of grooming acts, using a fabricated father-daughter relationship as cover for his later indecent conduct.

Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu found the victim to be a credible and consistent witness whose testimony was supported by text evidence and an eyewitness account.

The judge found the accused’s explanations to be unreliable and full of contradictions, describing his claim that references to hugs and kisses in his messages were merely “virtual” or “verbal” as defying logic.

The man was convicted of three counts of committing an indecent act with a minor and one count of sexual grooming of a minor, and faces up to five years in jail per indecent act charge.

The Ministry of Education confirmed that the man had been suspended in October 2023 and was no longer teaching, stating that it takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to dismiss those who breach its standards.