A former secondary school teacher was yesterday accused of having multiple sexual encounters with his underage female student in 2015.

The 41-year-old man, who taught in a school in the north-eastern part of Singapore, was charged with 20 counts of sexually penetrating a minor.

He is claiming trial to all the charges and cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girl's identity.

The man, who left the teaching service in 2017, is accused of committing the offences when the girl was 15 years old.

The teenager is said to have gone to his home on Aug 10, 2015, and they had sexual intercourse for the first time. They allegedly continued to have more sexual activities until Sept 24 that year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew said the girl was the first witness.

The hearing was in camera - not open to the public - when she testified in court. Parties not involved in the case, such as jour-nalists, were told to leave the courtroom.

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The man was expressionless as he stood in the dock before District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt yesterday.

He is represented by lawyer Ravinderpal Singh and is now out on bail of $25,000. The trial resumes today.

There have been previous cases of teachers being dealt with in court over sexual offences committed against minors.

For instance, on Feb 23, 2009, a married female teacher was jailed for 10 months for having sex with a then 15-year-old boy.

She was the first woman to be taken to court for the offence.

On June 30, 2014, a male teacher was jailed for four years and nine months after pleading guilty to four counts of having sex with his then 15-year-old former student.

He also admitted to one count of performing an obscene act on her.

Offenders convicted of sexually penetrating a minor can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge.