A former NUS lecturer who was alleged to have rubbed against an undergrad in a bus was found guilty and sentenced to 14 weeks' jail on Thursday (Oct 17), while the university had already terminated him from the service.
Long Yun, who was a lecturer of National University of Singapore's Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, had been alleged to have rubbed his groin against the thigh of a 20-year-old female student while travelling in a campus shuttle. He came from China in 2013 and became a permanent resident two years later. The incident happened on the NUS shuttle bus service A1 along Lower Kent Ridge Road on Jan 14 this year, as per the court hearings.
Narrating the incident, Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan said the lecturer was holding on to the standing pole next to the student, and stood facing her at a "very close" distance. When the bus moved, it jolted forward and Long's groin rubbed against the student's left thigh. Later, he shifted closer and rubbed his groin against her again, he told the court.
"The contact between Long and the victim was far from fleeting, lasting a total of four minutes," said DPP Chan. The student, feeling shocked and confused, reported the matter to authorities who made a complaint to the police, leading to the lecturer's sentence for a 14-week jail term on Thursday.
In any case of outrage of modesty, the Singaporean law states that a convict can face a jail term of up to two years as well as a fine, depending on the severity of offence. Sexual harassment or making unwelcome sexual advancements come under the 2014 Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), including stalking and other nuances in the modern form like upskirt photography or videos.
Last year, a 59-year-old former psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was found guilty of molesting five 13-year-old boys at a school camp 20 years ago and was convicted after a trial on charges of molesting the victims over three days in June 1999 and seven more charges of molesting four other boys.
As per the court documents, the former NUS lecturer was the camp consultant during a life-skills camp which took place between June 28 and June 30 in 1999 at Guillemard Camp in Old Airport Road by a school for its secondary school students.
