Kinderland Singapore released a timeline detailing the alleged child abuse case at their Woodlands Mart branch in a Sep. 7 press release, revealing that the teacher involved in the alleged child abuse received a warning letter from a disciplinary panel on Aug. 22, 2023, before they could watch the videos.

According to the press release, the teacher, Lin Min, was "closely supervised" by the centre's principal and another educator — before being dismissed on Aug. 28 after the disciplinary inquiry's "second phase was completed".

They said it was also the same day the video footage "emerged online" when Kinderland's general manager and disciplinary panel "saw the video footage".

Principal saw footage before the disciplinary inquiry

According to the timeline provided by Kinderland, Lin joined Kinderland in March 2020.

Between Jun. 27 and 30, 2023, Teacher B, who joined around May 2023, filmed the videos of Lin's behaviour towards the children.

On Jul. 29, Teacher B resigned from Kinderland. Kinderland claimed that in her exit interview document, Teacher B "did not indicate any child’s mismanagement and dissatisfaction" and instead "indicated good for Kinderland’s Pay and Benefits, Opportunity to use her ability, Recognition for the work, Training received, Supervisor’s management and Physical working condition".

The timeline stated that the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) visited Kinderland Woodlands on Aug. 11 and conducted a classroom observation. ECDA also informed then-principal Mahirah Yasid of an anonymous report of mismanagement of children.

ECDA interviewed Mahirah and two other teachers on Aug. 17.

Kinderland said Mahirah "watched video footage of cases of alleged child mismanagement taken by the teacher who had left in July".

It also said that a senior manager who accompanied Mahirah "viewed snippets of the video footage".

After Mahirah and the senior manager informed Kinderland headquarters, a disciplinary inquiry was set up to "look into" Lin's conduct.

Kinderland said Lin received a warning letter at "phase one" of the disciplinary inquiry and was then closely supervised by Mahirah with another educator.

On Aug. 28, video footage of the alleged abuse cases emerged online.

"This is also when Kinderland’s general manager and the disciplinary inquiry panel saw the video footage apart from the senior manager," the press release stated.

On the same day, Lin was dismissed when the disciplinary inquiry's "phase two" was completed.

Lin was also arrested on the same day of her dismissal and was charged in court for ill-treating children two days later on Aug. 30.

Kinderland said Mahirah was also removed from her principal role and redeployed on Aug. 30.

Kinderland apologises to parents and assigns new principal

The timeline was released during Kinderland's fourth dialogue session with the parents on Sep. 6 "with a contrite apology over the

recent videos and an acknowledgement of a lapse in processes".

Kinderland also announced they assigned Surinder Kaur as the new principal for the Woodlands Mart branch.

It said Kaur has 20 years of experience in the early childhood sector, 10 of which was with Kinderland.

Kaur shared that she will increase the frequency of walkabout at the centre, enabling her to interact more with the teachers and ensure the children's wellbeing.

In addition, 24-hour CCTVs have been installed at all the centre's classrooms and activity areas for enhanced safety and security.

Staff cannot use personal devices so teachers are focused on the children

Kinderland also clarified its "no personal device" policy during teaching hours, previously announced on social media on Aug. 30.

"This is to ensure that teachers are focused on their children and undistracted by their devices. This policy also ensures the privacy of the children, their families, and teachers," the school explained.

However, Kinderland said it encourages its staff to capture images or footage of inappropriate behaviour or emergencies "using any device" and swiftly report such situations.

In addition, it said it is mandatory for staff to use company-issued mobile devices to update parents on their child's progress through the Preschool Management App.

Kinderland said they will also comply with the decisions made by ECDA and take steps to further improve child safety in their schools while working with ECDA.

Background of the incident

On Aug. 28, multiple videos surfaced on social media showing a teacher allegedly abusing students at the preschool.

The videos showed a teacher forcefully trying to get children to drink water by forcing their heads back or pinching their cheeks. She was also filmed repeatedly hitting a boy on the buttocks with a book.

The teacher in the videos, Lin Min, was subsequently charged in court for ill-treatment of children and remanded to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Another incident of alleged mishandling involving a Kinderland teacher using a belt to tie the children to the chair was brought to light.

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Top photos via Julia Yee & Facebook