Infant care teacher, 55, plead guilty to abuse after leaving huge blue bruise on 1-year-old boy's back

The victim experienced pain and cried throughout the whole ordeal, but the accused ignored his cries.

Fiona Tan | February 19, 2022, 04:07 PM

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A 55-year-old infant care teacher plead guilty to abusing a one-year-old boy on Feb. 18, according to CNA.

What happened

The court imposed a gag order on the identity of the teacher, along with the location of her offences, to protect the victim's identity, The Straits Times (ST) and CNA reported.

The accused's job at the infant care was to care for young children between the ages of two and 18 months old.

Her duties included feeding and taking care of the toddlers, and leading them in educational activities.

CNA reported that the offences took place between 12.30pm and 1pm on Dec. 24, 2019, where the accused was caught on CCTV footage physically abusing the nearly one-year-old victim in a multitude of ways:

  • Hit him with one hand on his back at least 14 times
  • Hitting him with both of her hands at least eight times
  • Adjusted his legs roughly at least two times
  • Covering his head with a pillow
  • Slamming his face down onto a cushion by pushing his head down forcefully
  • Shaking him roughly by his arms before slamming him to the ground in a lying face up position
  • Slapping his cheek seven times in a row

The victim experienced pain and cried throughout the whole ordeal, but the accused ignored his cries.

The aftermath

Immediately after inflicting abuse on the victim, the accused noticed a big red patch started forming on the victim's back, which turned blue an hour later, according to ST.

The accused knew that the mark she had left would be noticed by the victim's mother.

She then sent a WhatsApp message to the victim's mother to ask if the victim had "very sensitive skin", and claimed the victim looked like he was "having an outbreak".

She apologised to the victim's mother for patting the boy to sleep "a bit hard".

The victim's mother brought the victim to KK Women's and Children's Hospital in the early morning on Dec. 25, where a 13cm by 8cm large bruise was found on his back.

The bruise was clinically diagnosed as an "alleged non-accidental injury".

Following the diagnosis, the victim's parents reviewed the CCTV footage of the incident and the accused's actions came to light.

The victim's mother lodged a police report on Dec. 31, 2019.

Pleaded guilty

The accused is no longer working at the infant care, according to ST.

She pleaded guilty to the charge of ill-treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act in court on Feb. 18.

She is facing another similar charge for her previous abusive actions, where she similarly abused the same victim, according to CNA.

The Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) sought for a year's jail, while the accused's lawyer sought for a jail term not more than six months.

The accused's lawyer said his client had "no good explanation" for her actions, nor does she "intend to proffer one as she finds her own actions inexplicable".

He said her abusive actions were "an aberration, and completely out of character" as she "loves children", "cares deeply for all the children she has worked with" and had a strong record as a preschool educator.

The accused's lawyer said the accused would be punished "not only by imprisonment", but by "guilt, ignominy, and shame for her actions".

Following the incident, it is likely that the accused would never be able to teach pre-school children again, said the accused's lawyer.

The accused wrote a letter of apology and hoped that the victim and his family can forgive her.

She will be sentenced on Mar. 17.

Those convicted of ill-treating a child may be jailed for up to four years, and fined up to S$4,000.

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