3 toddlers molested in S'pore pre-school: 3 managers banned from sector, pre-school fined S$26,200

After a former cook at a Singapore pre-school was found to have molested three girls, aged one to two years old, over seven months in 2023, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) investigated the school and discovered multiple safety breaches.

In May 2024, ECDA fined the school S$26,200, restricted all new enrolments, and shortened the school's licence tenure from 36 to six months, the agency said in a statement on Oct. 29.

Four management staff members who allegedly covered up the incident have since been fired by the pre-school operator.

ECDA has also taken action against them, including banning three from working in the pre-school sector.

The pre-school cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identities of the victims, who were all aged one to two years old.

What happened

On Oct. 27, Teo Guan Huat, a 61-year-old Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, was convicted of molesting the three girls about two to three times a week between May and Nov. 16, 2023.

Beyond his main role as a cook at the pre-school, Teo had also helped to lay out mattresses and pat children to sleep during nap time, and escorted the children to shower.

On Nov. 16, 2023, he was finally confronted by the school management committee about the abuse when an employee caught him in CCTV footage inserting his hands under the diaper of a two-year-old girl.

However, the school's CCTV system was later found to be reformatted, erasing footage between Nov. 16 and Dec. 2, when the abuse was reported to the police.

In February 2025, four women were charged with intentionally omitting information on the sexual assault.

They were the management employees who have since been dismissed from the school.

One of them was granted a discharge amounting to acquittal on Jul. 16, and subsequently given a stern warning.

Heavy penalties

ECDA learnt about the matter on Dec. 5, 2023, when the pre-school informed the agency that a non-teaching staff member had inappropriately touched a two-year old child on Nov. 9, 2023.

It subsequently learnt from the police and the pre-school that Teo had also molested two other children from the same school. 

After investigations concluded in February 2024, ECDA imposed the penalties on the school "given the severity and extent of the lapses", the agency said in its statement.

ECDA also directed the pre-school to submit a corrective action plan to ensure its children’s safety, and the school did so in June 2024.

The school's licence tenure has been kept at the shortened six months at subsequent licence renewals, to ensure that corrective measures they have put in place are effective.

ECDA reserves the right to not renew the pre-school’s licence if warranted.

Besides the four management employees, the agency also took action in April 2024 against four other teaching staff members for failing to exercise vigilance in the supervision of the children.

One was issued a stern reminder, and the other three got warnings.

Staff members issued with warnings are required to declare the warning, and it will be taken into consideration when they seek re-employment in the pre-school sector within two years.

Ensuring children's safety

ECDA emphasised that it will take firm action against pre-school operators that do not fulfil their duty of care to the children under their charge.

"Regulatory lapses that compromise children’s safety and well-being in pre-schools are not acceptable," the agency said.

Pre-schools need to obtain ECDA's approval before deploying any non-teaching staff as programme helpers to assist in activities involving children.

Additionally, they must ensure that programme helpers are closely supervised when assisting with routine tasks involving children in the pre-school.

Before approving a staff member's deployment, ECDA will conduct checks to assess that individuals do not pose a risk to children’s safety or have been barred from working in the pre-school sector.

Top images from Teo Guan Huat/LinkedIn and Pexels