Jail term‚ fines for S'pore professor in sex-for-grades case

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SIGAPORE: A Singaporean law professor was found guilty of corruption today after a judge ruled that he abused his position to obtain sexual favours and gifts from a female student in exchange for good grades.

National University of Singapore professor Tey Tsun Hang, 42, now faces

jail terms and fines over his relationship with his then-student Darinne Ko in 2010. Local media reported that she is now 23 and working in a law firm.

Tey, who is married with a daughter, tricked Ko into having sex with him and received gifts that included tailored shirts and a limited-edition pen, Judge Tan Siong Thye said in his verdict.

Ko got pregnant during their affair and paid for her own abortion, the judge noted. "I find the accused guilty as charged and convict him on all of the six charges against him," he said.

Tey faces a maximum five-year jail term and a Sg$100,000 ($78,000) fine on each charge. He is to be sentenced on Wednesday.

"It is a no-brainer that there was an obvious imbalance of power in favour of the accused. The accused had abused his position and power," the judge said.

"In my view, it was an illicit romantic relationship that was laced with ulterior motives and corrupt intention in which the accused intentionally abused his position and took full advantage of a student."

After the verdict, the NUS announced that it had terminated Tey's employment with immediate effect.

P'pines drops 'SEX' slogan

MANILA: The Philippine Health Department said on Tuesday it had dropped a cheeky slogan that recommended 'SEX' for call centre workers after the industry failed to find it funny. The SEX tagline, which stood for 'Stress-free, Eat the right foods and Exercise', was suppose to encourage the country's army of call centre workers to lead healthier lifestyles, said Health Undersecretary Enrique Tayag. "We thought it would be funny. They used (the acronym) SEX to make it a simple message," he said. However representatives of the call centres objected, saying their sector was already being stigmatised by reports that HIV infections were higher among their workers, Tayag told AFP.

The health undersecretary said he also did not expect newspaper headlines such as "Call Centre Agents need to have more SEX: Department of Health." The department is still continuing the campaign but with the tamer slogan of 'Live Well, Work Well', Tayag said. — AFP