Ex-kindergarten staff charged with abusing 3 children aged 5, she allegedly pushed 2 boys over & threw 1 girl's chair

A 34-year-old woman allegedly abused three five-year-old children at a kindergarten in Singapore.

According to CNA, she was handed three charges under the Children and Young Persons Act for inflicting unnecessary physical pain and suffering to the children in court on Sep. 11.

Due to a gag order to protect the identities of the victims, the defendant's name and the location of the alleged incident have been redacted in court documents.

Pushed a boy on his back twice, causing him to fall

Citing charge sheets, CNA reported that all the alleged incidents took place on Jul. 25, 2024.

At about 11:55am that morning, the defendant, in an attempt to get a five-year-old boy to stand up, allegedly pulled him forcefully by his arm.

She also reportedly threw the chair he was sitting on into an open space in the classroom, before pushing him twice on his back, causing him to fall forwards onto the floor.

The defendant also allegedly pulled the boy by his arm again when he was walking away from her.

Threw a girl's chair

According to CNA, the defendant is also accused of making a five-year-old girl stand up from her chair while she was eating, and then throwing the chair into an open space in the classroom.

She then reportedly pushed the girl behind a wall.

Pushed another boy

The defendant then allegedly pulled another five-year-old boy by his arm and pushed him towards a wall, causing him to fall forward onto the floor, CNA reported.

Will plead guilty

Citing court records, CNA reported that the defendant was working at a kindergarten at the time of the alleged offences.

She said that she will be pleading guilty to the charges and will not be getting a lawyer.

Her guilty plea date is fixed for Oct. 28.

If convicted, the defendant could be jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 or both for each charge of ill-treating a child.

In a combined response by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to Parliamentary Questions on Child Mismanagement in 2023, ECDA stated that “if there are educators assessed to pose a risk to children’s safety, they will not be allowed to be deployed.”

“This includes those with previous criminal offences involving children, as well as former educators whom ECDA has earlier barred from working in the preschool sector.”

Top photos via Canva, Mothership