Therapist manhandling child case: Police says 9-minute clip 'did not fully reflect' context of therapist's actions

The police are currently still in the midst of the review.

Syahindah Ishak | July 03, 2020, 12:37 PM

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has responded to the case of a special needs therapist who manhandled a boy during a home therapy session.

According to a Facebook post, which included a video of the incident, the therapist was given a "verbal warning" with "no further action" taken.

Police said in a July 3 news release that they are aware of the viral video that had circulated online.

No physical injuries on the boy

A police report was lodged by the child’s father at about 11:30pm on Mar. 29, 2019.

The report stated that his six-year-old son had been physically abused by a 28-year-old female therapist earlier that day during a therapy session at their home.

Medical examination of the boy at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital was carried out on the same day.

However, no physical injuries were found.

The police had subsequently conducted investigations.

This included reviewing the CCTV footage that captured the entire 90-minute therapy session and interviewing the therapist as well as other relevant persons.

Video was only a nine-minute segment of a 90-minute clip

Upon the conclusion of investigations and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the police issued a written advisory to the therapist.

Police explained that the nine-minute extract of the CCTV footage that had been shared online "did not fully reflect" the context of the therapist’s actions, and the interactions and dynamics between the boy and the therapist.

The outcome of the investigations was communicated to the family in August 2019.

Police currently in midst of review

The police were also aware that the family had consulted lawyers and had received legal advice on the matter.

After receiving further representations from the family in January 2020, the police conducted more interviews and sought further guidance from AGC.

SPF added in its news release:

"This was made known to the family at that time, and the police have been in contact with the boy’s family. The police are currently still in the midst of the review."

Related stories

Top images via Safirah Oshin/Facebook and SPF/Facebook.