Johannesburg - A Gauteng teacher dismissed for taking pupils to have their penises pierced has apologised, Beeld newspaper reported on Thursday.
“I was stupid, naive and should never have allowed that the open and good relationship I had with the pupils go that far,” Pieter Oberholzer told the Afrikaans daily.
He said his actions could not be undone but that rumours of sexual misconduct were unfair.
Oberholzer said the pupils saw his penis ring in the change rooms after swimming practice and asked him about it.
He told them to do some research and the boys kept asking him to take them to get piercings, to which he agreed. He then had the procedure done in front of them so they could see it was safe.
Afterwards, he realised he had made a mistake and told the school principal about it, who in turn apologised to the parents.
None of the pupils or their parents laid complaints against him, he said.
The school governing body decided to dismiss him after he took a boy to get a tattoo a few months later.
Oberholzer was appointed as the head of drama at the Willowridge High School in eastern Pretoria in 2009.
He is also a member of Afrikaans entertainment group Die Grafsteensangers, who poke fun at mostly old Afrikaans songs. - Sapa