Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Theatre don who taught in Malaysia named by US preparatory school as ‘sexual predator’

KUALA LUMPUR — A prominent theatre teacher who has worked in Malaysia and the region since the 1980s has been accused by Milton Academy in Massachusetts, US of sexually abusing at least a dozen of its students.

Photo: The New York Times

Photo: The New York Times

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

KUALA LUMPUR — A prominent theatre teacher who has worked in Malaysia and the region since the 1980s has been accused by Milton Academy in Massachusetts, US of sexually abusing at least a dozen of its students.

According to the Boston Globe, the preparatory school said it sacked him in 1987 after he admitted to molesting a student, but new investigations commissioned by Milton Academy concluded that he had sexually abused at least a dozen underage boys before his firing.

The individual was employed by the school from 1975 to 1987, after which he moved to Asia and subsequently worked in Malaysia.

He has worked with various local institutions of higher learning to introduce programmes related to the performance arts. These include both private and public universities.

He has also frequently directed theatre shows in both Singapore and Malaysia, and was last reported to be based in Thailand.

However, the man has been seen in Malaysia this year.

His LinkedIn profile, which had listed his experience with these and other regional schools, has also been deleted.

The revelation came about after officials at Milton Academy issued a written apology to the school community regarding their inability at the time to investigate whether others had been molested by the educator and for “failing to protect students”.

It said it only discovered the full extent of the sexual abuse during his 12-year tenure after a nine-month investigation by a New York security consulting firm hired by the school.

The investigation was prompted by reports that staff from more than 110 private schools in New England had faced allegations of sexual misconduct over the past 25 years.

The school has contacted immigration authorities on the matter and as well as all of the man’s other employers since he left the school, the report said.

Malay Mail Online is also checking with local universities and performance groups for information on the extent of his employment and contact with students in Malaysia.

Aside from Milton, the man has worked for at least 18 other schools and theatre groups.

It is unclear if he is working in Malaysia at the moment, but a listing at one tertiary institution suggests that he may still be employed in Malaysia in some teaching capacity.

The news also emerges at a time when Malaysia is making strides towards implementing a sexual offenders registry, amid growing incidents of rape and sexual abuse involving both minors and adults.

Malaysians were shocked last year to learn of Richard Huckle, who is believed to have raped and abused over 200 minors as young as six months’ old, including 23 in Malaysia. MALAY MAIL ONLINE

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.