A male primary school teacher, now 54 years old, allegedly molested a then-7-year-old girl at his workplace in 2015 and was charged in court on 28 October, according to The Straits Times.
He was charged with molestation and the case has since been adjourned to 11 November; the parties cannot be named to protect the identity of the alleged victim.
The Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement that the man has been suspended from his duties since April 2021.
MOE said in their statement that they take a serious view of staff misconduct and that they will not hesitate to take disciplinary actions against those who fail to adhere to their standards of conduct and discipline.
MOE added that this included being dismissed from service.
The accused had allegedly touched the girl’s private parts over her school, while they were at the school back in 2015 – however, it was not mentioned if the alleged victim was a student of the school at the time.
The accused faces a jail term of up to 5 years and/or a fine upon conviction, and he cannot be caned as he is above 50 years old.