Republic Polytechnic

Republic Polytechnic 共和理工学院 Politeknik Republik
Address
9 Woodlands Avenue 9,
Singapore 738964
Singapore
Information
Type	Public, Government, Polytechnic
Established	1 August 2002
Website	www.rp.edu.sg

Republic Polytechnic (RP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore.

Controversy

Admission revocation controversy 2018

On April 2018, 16 students education admission were revoked by Republic Polytechnic on the first day of school. The school had reportedly sent admission acceptance letters to the 16 students before the school lesson starts. One of the students namely Hou told Singapore news media Lianhe Wanbao, that on the first day of school at RP, the school told her that her O-Level grades did not meet the cut off point for the Human Resource Management with Psychology course.

RP's registrar Shanmugasundar W told Singapore news media Mothership that:

"We apologise to Ms Hou for the mistake we made in evaluating her application to Republic Polytechnic (RP), which resulted in her placement in the polytechnic being withdrawn on her first day of school.

RP has worked with Ms Hou to secure her a place in ITE. She has since matriculated into ITE College West’s Higher Nitec in Accounting course. We wish her all the best in her studies."

Shanmugasundar claimed that RP discovered "discrepancies in the submitted and actual examination / CCA grades of 15 other students during verification checks before the semester started", and that revoking their places was done out of "fairness to other unsuccessful applicants". The school did not reveal the nature of the mistake and the follow up measures to tighten the verification process.

The incident draws criticism from the public and the parents of the affected students.

The 16 students affected were forced to study at ITE, or other polytechnic courses, and some decided to retake their O-Level examination.

Student sexual misconduct scandal

A male RP student trespassed into a female toilet behind a Starbucks cafe at Keat Hong Community Club on 11 November 2018 at around 5.30 PM to follow a young girl after he saw her entered. He intended to peep at the young girl but changed his mind when he was in the cubicle as he was afraid of being caught. He stayed in the cubicle until another girl, a 17-year-old student, entered the toilet about 15 minutes later and occupied the cubicle next to his. The boy then put his mobile phone above the separating cubicle wall to film her. He was caught and given a 24-month conditional warning.

Later on 22 October 2019, the boy saw another 17-year-old student entering the Republic Polytechnic's school toilet and decided to follow her. He occupied the cubicle next to hers and placed his jacket on the dividing wall to avoid suspicion, he then placed his phone above her cubicle to film her. The girl spotted it about five seconds later, immediately dressed herself and left the cubicle. She waited for five to 10 minutes for him to leave the cubicle, but he stayed inside. Then she decided to wait for him outside the toilet and she confronted him when he emerged. The boy denied taking any photos or videos of her and no footage was recovered.

The boy was suspended from the polytechnic and charged in court for insulting woman's modesty. He was diagnosed with depression and a psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) later said in a medical report that his depression had contributed significantly to his lack of control over his impulses and negative risk-taking behaviour at the time of the offences.

Student taking obscene video

On 27 July 2021, RP information technology student Gerald Che Hong Yao, was sentenced to 2 years probation after he pleaded guilty to 3 counts of voyeurism. He has to remain indoors from 11 PM to 6 AM every day and perform 60 hours of community service. His parents were bonded for SGD $5000 to ensure his good behaviour and he has been banned from owning a mobile phone with video-recording or photo-taking functions. He has also been suspended from school.

Che was stationed at Jurong Medical Centre during his internship since January 2021 and he followed the victims into the female toilet at the medical centre and film the victims in the cubicle. Che was caught after a victim spotted his mobile phone on 11 January 2021. She came out of her cubicle but did not see anyone else in the restroom as Che had managed to flee the scene. The 28-year-old woman lodged a police report that day, and police officers arrested Che the next day.

Che admitted that he began taking a variety of obscene videos in 2016 at different places including MRT stations, buses and shopping malls. He also took 2 upskirt video at the escalator in RP.

Incident

Man’s body found outside RP

The badly decomposed body of a 49-year-old man was found outside of RP on 19 August 2023 by landscape workers. The police refer to the case as one of unnatural death. According to RP, the deceased isn't a member of the RP community.