30 High School Students in Singapore Get Caned For Keeping Upskirt Photos of Their Teachers

October 31, 2016

Several male students from an unnamed all-boys high school in Singapore were discovered to be keeping upskirt photos of their female teachers on their smartphones.

The unnamed student who got expelled allegedly got involved in a similar incident at his previous school. The principal claimed, however, that the expelled boy was not among those who had taken the photos and videos.

“We took him in and gave him a chance, but he did not use it. We want to help young people learn, that’s why we were prepared to give him that chance,” the principal was quoted as saying. “It was heartbreaking he did not take that opportunity.”

Seven boys reportedly took the images and video clips with their phones, while 23 others passed and received the files around, TNP reported. According to the principal, the school immediately investigated the matter after receiving information about the upskirt images on Oct. 5. The involved students were then rounded up for questioning.

“We found there were students taking upskirt photos and videos, and sharing them. There were 30 students,” he told TNP.

He added that the school, with the consent of the teachers involved, eventually decided to keep the incident internal instead of making a police report. The police, however, confirmed that there was a report made on the incident, and investigations are already ongoing.

The victimized teachers talked to the culprits and informed them the consequences of such actions. According to the principal, the boys had realized what they had done wrong and “the impact of how much they have hurt their teachers was very painful”.

“They cried, they knew they were wrong. Their teachers forgave them,” he added.

The 30 boys who were in various grades in the secondary school had upskirt photos of six female teachers. Some of them were publicly caned to serve as a warning to the rest of the school community. Others were given detention duties while the remaining were scheduled for counselling sessions. All of them had also been stripped of any award that they had won this year and prohibited to take their smartphones to school for the time being.

Dr Lim Boon Leng, a private psychiatry practitioner, said a more flexible sex education may help youngsters avoid getting into such trouble.

“Sexual education now focuses on teenage pregnancy and abstinence. The curriculum can include deviant sexual practices, which are actually unhealthy, so that teenagers can learn about them when they undergo sexual education and seek help from counselors,” he said.

He also pointed out the important role parents play in the teens development into early adulthood.

“What we notice is that during their children’s teenage years, parents tend to leave them on their own, thinking they are old enough to fend for themselves,” said Dr Lim. “The communication may be very minimal and the children may be going through difficulties without their parents knowing. This can be prevented if parents can be more appropriately open in discussing sexual issues like gender, identity and sexual orientation.”

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