Singapore High Court overturns sex-for-favor conviction

SINGAPORE–Singapore’s High Court has overturned the conviction of a law professor jailed for obtaining sexual favors and gifts from a female student in exchange for better grades, his lawyer said Friday.

Former National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor Tey Tsun Hang, 42, served a five-month sentence last year after he was found guilty by a district court of six charges of corruption over his relationship with his then-student Darinne Ko in 2010.

The district court ruled that he had “exploited” the female student by obtaining sexual favors from her and also receiving gifts that included tailored shirts and a limited-edition pen.

But Tey’s lawyer Peter Low said Friday that High Court Justice Woo Bih Li “allowed an appeal and overturned the conviction”, five months after he completed his prison sentence.

“The crux of it is that the court found that it takes two hands to clap even though he exploited her and that she was in love with him,” Low told AFP.

“I am glad that Professor Tey has been vindicated by a court of law and acquitted of all six corruption charges,” he said.

The NUS, which announced last year that it had terminated Tey’s employment after his conviction, did not immediately comment on the ruling.

In handing down the sentence last year, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye said Tey “abused his position and power” while in the relationship with Ko and chastised him for his “ulterior motives and corrupt intention”.

The court had heard during the trial that Ko got pregnant during their affair and paid for her own abortion.

It is the second high-profile corruption case to be overturned in Singapore in the past year.

Ng Boon Gay, a former head of Singapore’s narcotics police, was cleared of corruption in February 2013 after a court rejected charges that he demanded oral sex from a female contractor to help her win government deals.