Ex-student care officer admits ill-treating 5-year-old boy at kindergarten

SINGAPORE – A student care officer at a kindergarten was at work when she grabbed a five-year-old boy and dragged him away after she spotted him playing with water at a sink on Feb 15, 2022.

The Singaporean woman continued dragging the child after he fell on the floor.

She continued abusing him after that, including by pushing the back of his head towards the floor, causing him to curl up in pain.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras captured the incident, and she resigned from her job two days later.

On July 2, the 54-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating a child.

Details about her and the kindergarten cannot be disclosed due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.

At the time of the offence, the boy was enrolled at the kindergarten’s childcare programme and would go there every weekday from noon to around 6.30pm.

The offender was tasked to take care of the children.

In the afternoon of Feb 15, 2022, she saw the boy and another child playing at a sink in the classroom.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Natalie Chu told the court: “(The woman) became frustrated that they were not listening to her instructions to sit down and eat their snacks.

“Instead, they were filling up bottles with water and pouring them on the bookshelves. She was also angry that they had been disruptive earlier during the nap session.”

Shortly before 3.10pm, she grabbed the victim by both arms and dragged him away from the sink.

He fell to the floor and tried to resist her. Despite this, she continued to drag the child and pulled him up to his feet.

After that, she grabbed his right arm and walked him across the classroom, back to the sink area.

The prosecutor said that the woman grew increasingly stressed when the boy seemingly remained uncooperative and when she saw that the floor near the sink was wet.

She forcefully grabbed the victim’s arms and swung him repeatedly for around six seconds, causing the lower half of the latter’s body to hit the wet classroom floor multiple times.

She then pulled him up and took him to a cabinet area beside the sink. She sat on top of the cabinet and held the victim by his shoulders in front of her.

She also grabbed the boy’s hair and pushed the back of his head towards the classroom floor, causing the child to kneel and curl up in pain.

After that, the woman pulled the victim up but maintained a strong grip on his right arm.

She was still holding on to his arm at around 3.11pm when she shoved him through a small group of children and started to gather his belongings.

The boy also reached for his belongings but she grabbed them away from him.

“The victim fell to his knees, refusing to move. The accused then dragged the victim along the classroom floor for about 40 seconds,” said the prosecutor.

Court documents did not disclose what happened next, but the boy was at home that evening when his father saw scratch marks on the child’s face and neck.

When queried, his son said that the woman had caused them but did not give details about his ordeal.

The next day, the child’s parents alerted the kindergarten’s centre head, who viewed the CCTV footage.

She alerted the police on Feb 23, 2022, and the victim was later taken to the National University Hospital.

He was then found with injuries, including a bruise on his back.

His abuser will be sentenced on Aug 6.