SINGAPORE, April 29 -- A Singapore court on Tuesday convicted a 41-year-old former teacher of sexually grooming a 13-year-old student and committing indecent acts against her, after finding that he had cultivated a calculated false father-daughter relationship with the girl to mask his predatory intentions.

The victim was his Secondary 2 student in 2022, when she was between 13 and 14 years old.

The teacher met the student frequently under the guise of helping her with schoolwork, during which he patted her head and touched her hand, CNA reported.

Text messages presented as evidence showed the accused calling the victim "dear," "precious," and "daughter," telling her he loved her and complimenting her appearance.

School staff had warn...