SINGAPORE - The identity of the former law student involved in the sex-for-grades case was revealed yesterday to be Darinne Ko Wen Hui, 22, who is currently understood to be working overseas.
This was revealed in court when the professor, Tey Tsun Hang, 41, was charged over the alleged scandal.
Within the first half of the day, Darinne Ko Wen Hui's photo and information on her was circulated on the Internet. Miss Ko has since taken down her LinkedIn profile and deleted her Facebook page.
She is alleged to have sexually gratified Tey on two occasions and given him gifts such a Mont Blanc pen worth $740, two tailor-made shirts worth $236.20, and an iPod Touch.
She also made a bill payment of $1,278.60.
Ms Ko, who turns 23 today, has not been charged.
The law student at the National University of Singapore from 2008 to 2012 graduated just last month with a second upper honours degree. She is described as highly motivated and competitive.
She studied at Raffles Girls' School, Raffles Junior College and was on NUS Law's Dean's List in 2009.
For a few weeks in 2009 and 2010, she was on an unpaid attachment at Rajah & Tann law firm. She is believed to be currently holding a job in a firm in New York.
The Straits Times reported that Ms Ko does not seem to be enrolled in this year's five-month preparatory course leading to Part B of the Singapore's Bar Examinations.
Law graduates must pass Part B and then undergo about six months of pupilage at a firm before becoming full-fledged lawyers.
Ms Ko also worked as a summer associate at O'Melveny & Myers in 2010 for a year.
She had studied equity and trusts and took a personal property law class under Tey in 2010 and end of 2011 respectively. Ms Koh was also part of a group of students who helped him prepare a law textbook titled Trusts, Trustees and Equitable Remedies.
The New Paper reported that information her Facebook page revealed that she loves to travel and is an ardent fan of English football team Manchester United.
The reportedly tomboyish girl would wear the team's jerseys to schools.
She also loves to hobnob but hates long skirts, reported the tabloid. She had blogged in July 2008 that she thought mingling with the who's who of the legal fraternity is "seriously cool".
She then talked about wearing longer skirts for now but comforted herself saying, "it's okay, once I'm up there, I can wear skirts above the knee".
Speaking on her behalf, her lawyers Subhas Anandan and Sunil Sudheesan said that she "strenuously denies any corrupt wrongdoing," reported The Straits Times.
They were at court yesterday to apply for a gag order to keep her identity from becoming public knowledge.
But this was objected to by both the prosecution and Tay's defence lawyers.
District Judge Lim Tse Haw pointed out that Ms Ko was not "a party to the proceedings", so the application of the gag order could not be made, reported The New Paper.
Ms Ko's NUS degree may be in question as an NUS spokesperson said students who breach its Code of Student Conduct are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
