SINGAPORE: A former Kinderland teacher who was charged on Wednesday (Aug 30) with ill-treating a child has been barred from working in the preschool sector and issued a warning, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said.
Lin Min, 33, is accused of ill-treating a 23-month-old child on the afternoon of Jun 30 at Kinderland Preschool @ Woodlands Mart. Court documents showed that she allegedly forced the girl to lie down and poured water into her mouth.
She has been fired from the school.
ECDA said that it is investigating the roles of the centre leader and preschool operator in the incidents and may take further actions if they are “deemed not to have fulfilled their duty of care to the children”.
The agency started its investigation on Aug 10 after being alerted to the incidents by a former employee.
“We have since determined that the educator involved in the incidents had used highly inappropriate methods to manage the children in her care,” it said.
ECDA is closely monitoring the preschool to ensure the safety and well-being of all enrolled children.
“The preschool operator has also been instructed to provide close guidance and supervision to their educators on classroom management in this preschool,” the agency added,
Lin was the first of two preschool teachers to be arrested this week. The other was arrested on Tuesday, linked to the alleged mistreatment of a child at a Kinderland centre at Sunshine Place in Choa Chu Kang.
ECDA said it was alerted to the second incident on Tuesday and it is investigating the case.
“We acknowledge that such incidents have caused grave concern among parents on the safety and well-being of children in our preschools,” said the agency.
“ECDA will continue to work closely with preschool operators and training providers to ensure our centre leaders and educators understand their duty of care to the children and do their utmost to prevent child mismanagement from happening,” it said.