SINGAPORE: A spiritual medium who sexually assaulted a teenage girl under the pretext of giving her one-to-one wushu lessons was sentenced to nine years and four months’ jail on Wednesday (Dec 31).
Tan Beng Kwee, 63, had earlier been convicted of sexual offences against the victim, who was then between 14 and 15 years old.
The charges are one count of attempted sexual penetration of a minor under 16, one count of sexual penetration of a minor under 16, and one count of procuring an indecent act from a young person.
Tan claimed trial and was found guilty of all three charges by Principal District Judge Toh Han Li, who dismissed the accused’s bare denial.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order.
OFFERED PRIVATE LESSONS
Tan founded the Ang Mo Kio home temple in 2007 and lived there with his then-girlfriend.
He acted as a spiritual medium who invited a Taoist god to possess him during sessions with temple members.
During one such session, Tan told the victim to learn wushu, a form of Chinese martial arts, from him.
She began taking one-on-one lessons in 2013, up to two times a week at the unit’s living room. This was when she learned about the zodiac, horoscope, talismans and feng shui.
During the sessions, he ensured that no one else was present, according to the prosecution.
The sexual assaults took place during one of the first few lessons.
Claiming that he was feeling hot, Tan went to the master bedroom with the girl. There, he sexually assaulted her, ignoring her reluctance and pain. He claimed she or her family would be punished if she did not participate.
Before she returned home, Tan told the victim that she had to keep mum about the incident, or else “something would happen to her family”.
Fearful that the Taoist god might punish her for failing to attend lessons, the victim continued with the lessons until some weeks before Nov 24, 2015.
The prosecution charged that Tan had “orchestrated” the offences by using the voice of a deity to isolate the victim, showing her pornography to “desensitise her”, then issuing threats of “supernatural punishment to silence her”.
According to the prosecution, Tan had also shown the victim an amulet in the shape of a private part.
The victim lodged a police report on Jan 23, 2021, and Tan was arrested two days later.
When the authorities raided Tan’s home, they seized more objects that resembled private parts and several sex toys.
In his defence, Tan denied the sexual assaults and claimed the lessons occurred in 2015 when the victim had turned 16.
He also claimed that others would be free to come and go during the lessons, and that his girlfriend was present at at least one.
GRAVE ABUSE OF TRUST
In sentencing Tan, Judge Toh noted Tan’s “grave” abuse of the victim’s trust, pointing out that the victim, a temple member, had looked to Tan for spiritual guidance and saw him as a father figure.
The judge disagreed with the defence that there had been no evidence of premeditation, adding that the one-to-one lessons had created the setting for Tan’s abuse.
Judge Toh also noted the impact of the incident on the victim, who was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and panic disorder.
According to psychiatric reports, the victim had low mood and suicidal thoughts, and had described a “scar in her heart”. She also felt that others looked at her differently, even though no one knew about the sexual assault.
While Tan cannot be penalised for claiming trial, the victim had been put through the ordeal of testifying in court, Judge Toh said.
For procuring an indecent act on a young person, Tan could have been jailed up to five years, or fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,800), or both.
For sexual penetration of a minor under 16, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined, or both.
