Now, I must admit that Ah Leow was my tutor way back in 1988-1991.
Yes, he looks different. Yes, he does not behave like a tutor. Yes, he does not speak English well.
But man, he is someone that made me who I am today. If not for him, I would probably be somewhere in the streets now.
The title of the news on TNP is not flattering at all, and does no justice to his life time effort of passing on his knowledge and ethnics of being a human.
He has got himself into trouble many times by speaking his mind of politics in Singapore, and how unfortunate we are having certain person as our Minister of Education. His point of view did bring about many different opinions and pointed us to different ways of looking at a situation instead of blindly following the masses.
I remember he got into some trouble because he predicted the O level Biology practical exams almost to perfectly. What happened was that students who came for his classes were given the 'tip', while another few who did not attend, and later found out about it, was not happy, and reported it to CPIB. He was charged for selling the exam information to his students. And his friend who worked in MOE got fired, for the cause of giving such information to Ah Leow.
He got off without anything because there was no proof of monetary exchange.
The same thing happened a few years later.
But what was funny is this.
My cousin, my friends, my seniors, even my uncle-in-law (who got his PhD at the age of 26) were taught by Ah Leow, and he din even ask for any money from us for anything!
$40 per subject per month, and you can attend the lesson as often as you want. All printed matters included. Nothing more.
He has never pushed us when we are not able to pay the fees, but he will need to make a call to our parents to make sure that we din pocket the money.
To a cousin of mine, Ah Leow is an absolute ass though. What I heard was my cousin broke his chair, and Ah Leow demanded that he pay for it, but my cousin insisted that he did not break the chair.
Well, knowing Ah Leow, he would not have been that mean if my cousin has not been an ass in the first place. But I am not in a real good position to say anything on this because I did not see what happened.
One thing is for sure though, Ah Leow has been too open about his political views to the students for his own good.
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INSPIRING teacher. Religious man. Sexual predator.
To strangers, Singaporean private tutor Leow Thiam Heng, 62, looked like an 'Ah Pek' (heartland uncle). He was often in slippers, spoke broken English and cracked Hokkien jokes.
Hardly your image of a teacher.
But to many of his students, he was a caring, committed and inspiring teacher.
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| Leow's tuition centre was closed earlier this week.--Picture: DAVID TAN |
The private tutor did have a talent for maths, physics and chemistry, which he made easy for his students.
But, good as he was with numbers and formulae, Leow miscalculated when he thought he could get away with molesting his students.
He betrayed his students' trust and took advantage of teenage girls.
Leow had been found guilty of molesting two of his students in February this year after a three-week trial.
He had his appeal in the High Court dismissed last Friday. He will have to spend two years in jail.
POPULAR TEACHER
For over 20 years, his tuition centre - now at Peace Centre - had been popular among students.
A tutor since 1964, he was the man behind the centre's success, though some of his family members helped out.
He said he must have taught over 7,000 students over two decades.Students fondly called him 'Ah Leow' and during the weekends, his classes were often filled to capacity, with over 40 students in each class. He was popular, funny and friendly, said his students.
But his sordid side was kept well hidden from most of them.
Leow molested two secondary school girls, aged 14 and 15, in two separate incidents in mid-2004. They cannot be named as they are victims of a sexual offence.
The first victim, a Secondary 4student, had attended classes two days a week, for four hours each time. She went to the centre for maths, physics and chemistry tuition.
On 4 Jul that year, after her class ended around 6pm, Leow asked her to stay behind.
CHICKEN POX RUSE
She guessed he was going to give her cream for her face as he had done before. It was to help heal her chicken pox scars, he had told her.
She said Leow waited for everyone to leave before taking out the cream from the refrigerator.
He asked her to lie down on a sofa and applied the cream on her face.
Then he went to the fridge and returned with a bottle with a nozzle.
He asked her to lie down, and he lifted up her shirt and applied the cream on her stomach.
She said he continued rubbing his palms on her body, and moved upwards.He even pushed her bra up and started rubbing her breasts, and back down to her stomach.
She was too shocked to resist him.
Her parents noticed that she was quiet after picking her up and when she got home, the girl cried and told her mother everything.
The second victim was only 14 when Leow used the same ruse on her.
On 25 Jun 2004, Leow molested her while her two friends waited outside.
He even told her to shave her pubic hair in order to study better, she said.
He warned her not to tell anyone about the incident. But the girl told her friends and, after consulting a former tutor and her father, she made a police report.
Leow, who is married, with grown up children, accused the two girls of conspiring to frame him.
He claimed they had tried to extort money from him as they knew he owned private properties and shares.
But his statements to the police were inconsistent. This, he claimed,was because he had been shouted at and he couldn't understand English well.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong did not believe him and found the two victims' testimonies to be credible and consistent.
Leow appealed against his decision.
In the High Court, Leow's lawyer, Ms Melanie Ho, from Harry Elias Partnership, argued that even if Leow did touch the girls, he did not touch their breasts and private parts, but massaged only the waist area.
She presented testimonies about his character, from both his present and former students.
She said the accused was also a religious person who had been to Thailand and Myanmar for monastic training.
He also gave generously to charities, like the NKF, and Buddhist temples, she added.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun argued that both victims did not know each other before the case and had no reason to frame him.
He said it was Leow who offered $20,000 to compound the offences. The victims did not ask him for money.
CUNNING
He added that Leow had abused his students' trust and 'there was pre-meditation and cunning on (his) part'.
'These acts were not fleeting or momentary intrusions but lasted for a few minutes,' he said.
High Court judge V K Rajah dismissed Leow's appeal saying: 'Once tuition teachers do silly things to their charges, it's no point nuancing the charges and what part he touched or did not touch.'
Students, parents stand up for tutorTWO teachers and a dentist who were once taught by Leow Thiam Heng wrote testimonies vouching for his character.
In all, over 150 present and ex-students, and at least 20 of their parents, signed a mass testimonial. Some wrote letters in support of him.
One, a dentist in private practice, was Leow's student in the early '90s.
He said he had been a rebellious teenager. It was with Leow's help,'his ability to connect with his students', that put the ex-student back on the 'straight and narrow'.
Another of Leow's former students, who is currently pursuing a degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering, told The New Paper that Leow was a 'caringteacher'.
'He would go to any extent to help you with your work.
'You could go to see him any time if you had problems.'
Another ex-student, whom he taught from 1992 to 1994, said: 'He is a responsible and helpful teacher (who) has inspired many of his students. Although he may, at times, be full of jokes, he is a kind person at heart.
'I have benefitted greatly from his instruction and am now a full-time school teacher.'
The mass testimonial, signed mostly by his present students, said that even though Leow went through a tough time during the trial, he still continued teaching his classes - a 'testament to his commitment' to his students.
Leow's lawyer told the court that his daughter will take over managing the school.
But the school was closed when The New Paper paid a visit to its premises at Peace Centre, Sophia Road, earlier this week.
Numerous calls to the school also went unanswered.
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