Jail sought for piano teacher who molested girl

The judge also asked for a report by a Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) psychologist to be shown to two psychiatrists who had earlier said there was a link between the man's actions and his autism.

In the MSF report, the accused disclosed that he was fantasising about a pornographic scene while molesting the victim. He also admitted to watching pornography - which he had previously denied.

The man, who cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty in April to a charge of molesting a person under the age of 14.

The court heard that he had started taking piano lessons from the owner of the studio in 2013.

After he completed his piano diploma and his GCE Normal (Academic)-level exams in 2015, his father arranged for him to teach piano part-time at the studio.

On Nov 7, 2016, while he was alone with the victim as usual during a lesson, he told her to sit properly.

He told her that he had to correct her posture while she was playing the piano, then slipped his hand inside her underwear and scratched her around her genital area.

She repeatedly uttered "ouch" and told him to stop, but he continued while apologising. The girl, who did not know her private parts should not be touched without her consent, did not tell her grandfather what happened when he came to pick her up.

At home, when she took an unusually long time in the toilet, her mother went to check on her and found her crying in pain.

The girl then revealed what her teacher had done to her, and her father called the police.

After the incident, the girl had several episodes of bed-wetting and was seeing a counsellor.

The DPP sought a compensation order of $7,000.