Prof Chan said he was bewildered by nasty speculation over his character and sexual inclination in the aftermath of the stabbing attack. --PHOTO: INTERNET
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The Nanyang Technological University professor who was stabbed by a final year student earlier this month has broken his silence to respond to vicious talk on the Internet.
In an exclusive interview with The New Paper, Associate Professor Chan Kap Lup, 45, who teaches in NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said he was bewildered by nasty speculation over his character and sexual inclination in the aftermath of the stabbing attack by Indonesian student David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, who later fell to his death on that shocking March 2 morning.
Some netizens have suggested on sites such as SgForums.com that Prof Chan was attacked because he wanted to give the student a poor grade for his final year project. Some others even went so far as to imply Mr Widjaja and Prof Chan had a homosexual relationship, said the TNP report on Thursday.
Prof Chan, who is married with two young children, told TNP: 'My goodness, there's no such thing. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet, because people can write whatever they want.
'I never read these Internet forums because the postings can't be taken seriously - anyone can write anything.'
Refuting allegations on the poor grading, Prof Chan, who was Mr Widjaja's project supervisor, said with a laugh, that his role was to help students do well.
'We are not to fail the students and that's why I'm laughing at the suggestion that I wanted to give David a poor grade. Ask any professor if they wish to help their students do well and their answers are the same.'
The don, who suffered injuries on his back and right hand, was discharged from the National University Hospital on March 4 and is on medical leave for a few weeks.
Prof Chan added that all students 'have the same experiences of meeting deadlines and coping with other modules', but would not say if Mr Widjaja was slack with his project. 'If David had any problems with his project, he certainly didn't tell me. It's very sad he ended up like that,' he said.
He declined to talk more about the stabbing, saying he had given a police statement.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_352039.html
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