School bus driver who molested 3 kids accused of molesting another child in church in mid-90s

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
Feb 3, 2023

A man who pleaded guilty in December 2022 to molesting three children and taking explicit videos of several other young people faces a fresh charge of molesting a pre-schooler in a church between 1993 and 1995.

Gary Alexander Tan, who was charged with molestation on Friday, is said to have targeted the child when she was between four and six years old.

The identity of the girl and details about the church cannot be disclosed because of a gag order.

The father of three adult children had in earlier proceedings admitted to molesting other young victims. They include a boy with autism and another young girl.

The 68-year-old is expected to be sentenced on March 1 after having pleaded guilty in December 2022 to six charges, including multiple counts of molestation.

Tan had molested one of his victims while spending the night at a friend’s home in 2006. While the woman slept, he molested the girl, who was then between three and five years old.

Some time later, Tan was engaged by a kindergarten to transport children with special needs. He had been driving a seven-seater car to earn a living around 2009.

Although his contract with the kindergarten ended in 2012, some parents continued to engage him to ferry their children to and from school.

His passengers included a boy with autism, who was between four and six years old. Tan abused the boy between 2013 and 2014.

Tan also took photos of another young girl, whose age was not mentioned in court documents. He got to the girl by befriending her helper, who was looking after her in 2016.

Tan took an upskirt photo of the girl in his vehicle after persuading the maid that he would look after her.

He also asked two other maids he befriended to send him explicit photos of young girls. One declined, but the other agreed after he told her such photos would arouse him.

On at least 22 occasions between May 5 and Nov 1, 2016, Tan instigated the maid to send him explicit photos of her employer’s pre-pubescent daughter.

The maid also sent Tan 51 photos of another pre-pubescent girl and three photos of her employer’s pre-pubescent son naked.

The ages of the three children were not disclosed in court documents.

After becoming a school bus driver in 2017, Tan drove a nine-seater van.

His job was to ferry children who had been victims of alleged acts of abuse.

Tan knew the children were under care arrangements, and had signed an undertaking to safeguard information linked to them.

One of them was an eight-year-old girl who had allegedly been physically abused. As part of her care arrangements, she had to live with her aunt and maternal grandparents.

On Jan 12, 2017, after dropping off the other children, he molested the girl and took a video of himself committing the offence.

He molested her again on Jan 16, 2017, and shot a video of the acts.

Three days later, he showed the girl pictures of himself clad in underwear.

Later that month, the girl told her aunt and grandparents, who alerted her mother.

The mother then contacted the police on Jan 26, 2017. Officers arrested Tan later that day and seized his phone, which contained upskirt videos of many victims.

The Straits Times

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