Former youth instructor sacked and de-registered with MOE
The leadership workshop trainer jailed last week for asking a 15-year-old student for indecent pictures has been sacked by his company and de-registered by the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Tay Yi Hui, 28, had chatted with the teenager on Instagram after a workshop at the boy's school ended on May 30 last year, and asked him to send a photo of himself in his underwear.
Tay was jailed for two months.
On Monday, an MOE spokesman told The New Paper all instructors who provide sustained services to schools here are required to register with MOE and must be assessed to be suitable before doing so.
She said the ministry takes a serious view of instructors who do not conduct themselves appropriately during their interactions with students and it will not hesitate to take necessary action against them.
She said Tay was promptly de-registered with MOE after the teen's school lodged a police report, and he is no longer allowed to serve in MOE schools.
The spokesman said: "All instructors who provide services to schools are expected to conduct themselves professionally and abide by MOE's guidelines on appropriate conduct.
"This includes not engaging in indecent or offensive actions of a sexual nature, or attempting to establish an inappropriate relationship with a student."
In Tay's case, the boy did not send any photos and reported the matter to his teacher.
High Achievers Training Consultancy, Tay's employer at the time of his offence, said Tay was a freelancer.
After the firm was informed of the incident on June 13 last year, an investigation was launched and Tay's services were terminated the next day.
The firm also gave an incident report to the teen's school.
A company spokesman said: "High Achievers took a serious view of the misconduct and did not hesitate to take disciplinary action against the trainer, who failed to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline."
He said the firm requires all its trainers to undergo a mandatory code of conduct briefing before each training session, adding: "High Achievers takes the trust placed in us as educators seriously, and the safety of the students is our priority."
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