SINGAPORE - National sports agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) on Thursday (Nov 1) reminded coaches and sports administrators to conduct themselves professionally and act as "role models to their athletes".

This follows news on Wednesday that SportSG had suspended a male athletics coach from the National Registry of Coaches (NROC) for two years for breaching its code of ethics for coaches.

He had also been issued a stern warning by the police in August over alleged outrage of modesty.

A disciplinary panel was convened by SportSG to investigate national hurdler Kerstin Ong's complaints of misconduct against him.

A copy of a letter seen by The Straits Times showed the panel had found that:

• He had "made physical contact" with the athlete "with his phone" during a training session.

• He was "not vigilant in obtaining explicit permission when making physical contact" with her .

• He had used "inappropriate language during training".

He had thus breached "three key principles" in the code of ethics - of respect for individuals, responsible coaching, and integrity in actions.

A SportSG spokesman said: "Ultimately the coach-athlete relationship is founded on trust and most coaches take that seriously.

"Our role through CoachSG is to promote and protect the reputation of our coaches by maintaining a high standard of behaviour and integrity through our NROC disciplinary processes."

SportSG said that in handing out the punishment, the board of inquiry had considered the nature of the breach in the code of ethics, the coach's intentions when the breaches were committed, the impact on the athlete involved, precedences, and any other mitigating or aggravating factors.

The punishment means the coach will not be able to enjoy the benefits of being an NROC member - which includes conducting coaching activities at SportSG's facilities and premises, as well as venues managed by the agency - while he is suspended.

The ban started from Monday and the coach has until Nov 29 to submit a written appeal to SportSG.