Singapore man pleads guilty to abusing primary school students, forced boy to drink urine

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — A Singaporean man hired to teach primary school mathematics and English has pleaded guilty to abusing his pupils, including forcing a six-year-old boy to drink his own urine, according to The Straits Times.

The 31-year-old, who cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the children’s identities, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of child abuse.

He was also convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt and providing false or misleading information to the Ministry of Manpower.

The Straits Times reported that the man was hired in 2016 as a manager at an educational facility run by his aunt, which provided accommodation for students and workers as well as management consultancy services for foreign students.

Court documents showed that he was responsible for caring for students staying at the facility and teaching primary school pupils, despite having no childcare or teaching qualifications.

The prosecution said he regularly abused a six-year-old Chinese national pupil after the child moved into the facility in January 2023, punishing him by forcing him to hold a push-up position for long periods, hitting him with a clothes hanger and restricting his food intake.

In one incident, the man forced the boy to remain in the position from the afternoon until the next morning, before punching and stomping on him.

According to the report, he also allegedly placed a chair on the child and sat on it while he remained in the position.

The man later forced the child to urinate into a basin and drink it when he complained of thirst.

The abuse caused severe injuries, including lung damage, kidney failure requiring nine days of dialysis, multiple rib fractures and muscle breakdown.

The child was hospitalised in intensive care from March 14 to March 28, 2023.

The man also abused other pupils, including an 11-year-old and a 10-year-old, by hitting them with a hanger, punching them and forcing them into punishment positions.

He will be sentenced on Aug 21.