A 35-year-old woman was sentenced to six months' jail on Tuesday, October 28, for two counts of ill-treating children, with a third charge taken into consideration.
This comes after a parent lodged a complaint that their child was scared to attend a kindergarten care center due to an employee's actions, the facility examined closed-circuit television footage and found evidence of abuse.
The victims, the accused, and the scene of the crime cannot be identified due to a gag order issued by the court.
The woman worked as "programme staff" at an unidentified "care service for kindergarten children," the court heard. Her primary duties included supervising a class of roughly 12–13 kindergarteners at a center in a redacted area on weekdays from 7 am to 1 pm.
Two five-year-old boys and a four-year-old girl were the three victims who attended the service.
The victims were among the approximately 24 students in two classes that the woman was overseeing on July 25, 2024.
The students were seated around three tables enjoying their lunch.
Around noon, the woman became enraged because she thought one of the boys was acting inappropriately. She approached the boy, who was positioned behind a chair, took hold of his arm, and dragged him aside. She tossed the chair aside with the other hand.
She was also upset with her, so she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to where the four-year-old girl was standing.
The woman threw the girl's chair away and yelled at her to get up and eat her lunch while clinging to the boy.
When the girl remained motionless, the woman took her arm and dragged her to the table, whereupon she struck the furniture.
After yelling at the girl once more, she turned to face the boy and pushed him against the wall. The woman shoved him once more as he turned to face her. The boy nearly struck his head on the wall after falling.
The other five-year-old boy then appeared to be laughing, according to the woman. He fell forward as she grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away from the chair and toward a wall in a fit of rage.
She tossed two chairs into the classroom's open area.
She then reprimanded two of the victims and told one of them to pick up and put the chairs she had thrown on the floor back where they belonged.
The kids didn't go to the doctor.
One of the victims' parents filed a complaint the following morning, claiming that the woman's actions had made their child fearful of going to the care facility.
After reviewing CCTV footage, care service staff filed a police report.
The prosecution had requested six months in prison, claiming that the woman had misused her position of authority and trust and that her crimes were harder to find because she was left alone with the kids.
She could have faced up to eight years in prison, a fine of up to S$8,000, or both for each charge of mistreating a child.
