Teacher/Student Stories

The perpetrator, Stanley Wang, worked in the arts industry, primarily as a drag queen. Women dressed as various men would lip-sync and dance to entertain the audience. The incident occurred in Geylang in 1980. The women dressed as men were between 13 and 18 years old. Wang trained them using harsh methods, including physical abuse and physical punishment. If a performance failed, the women would suffer sexual abuse at his hands.

In the bruised-purple bedroom, Harold (72) and Elena (54) kneel, rope-burned and paddle-marked. Braids, collar, sippy cup, duck blanket, Goodnight Moon surround them. “I’m only lovable when little,” she sobs. “When Daddy,” he chokes. Pull-ups, journal confessions: I’ll die mid-story. They make love—tears, Daddy, Harold braided. Aftercare: salve, shared sips, blanket-cape. Miso purrs. Tomorrow: burnt toast, crayons, rituals. They stay—leaky, creaky, little, big—choosing each other daily.