Defending its "rigorous" scholarship selection process - which includes a screening against criminal records - a ministry spokesperson said Wong was selected after a review of his academic and co-curricular activity records along with testimonials from the Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Institution (HCI).
"The teachers did not include in his testimonials the fact that he was publicly caned as a student in 2002 for peeping in a ladies' toilet, as they thought he had overcome this errant behaviour after professional help," she said.
When contacted, a HCI spokesperson said that Wong was punished in Secondary 3 and responded well to professional counselling.
She said Wong "did well" subsequently and "did not behave inappropriately" in his remaining school years.
"His teachers thus thought he had learnt from his mistake. The teachers' testimonials were based on their observation of Jonathan during his time under their charge," she added.
As a result of this incident, however, the MOE will tighten its scholarship selection process.
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