SINGAPORE: A 59-year-old man accused of molesting a two-year-old girl in a preschool was working there as a cook, and there are more alleged victims, it was revealed in court on Wednesday (Dec 27).
The Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident was first charged on Dec 6 with molesting a two-year-old girl in her diaper on Nov 9 at the preschool.
He cannot be named due to a gag order preventing the publication of anything that could lead to the identification of the victim.
His family from Malaysia hired Mr Revi Shanker to act for him, with the lawyer appearing in court for a further mention of the case on Wednesday.
The accused was last ordered to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for medical examination on Dec 13.
The report stated that he suffers from paedophilic disorder, the court heard.
The police prosecutor said the investigating officer required time to complete investigations, and that the accused would be facing similar additional charges.
He asked for no bail to be given, noting that the sole molestation charge the accused was facing is non-bailable.
“Public safety concern is of paramount importance,” said the prosecutor. “Accused is a cook at the preschool where the incident took place, and (the) victims are all minors who attended at the preschool.”
Mr Shanker said there was no indication in the IMH report that there was risk of his client reoffending, or any issues with “public safety in respect of young victims”.
The police prosecutor then asked for the gag order to also apply to the location of the incident, which the judge granted.
District Judge Brenda Tan adjourned the case to January.
“In view of the IMH report … that the accused has paedophilic disorder, for public safety, I am not granting him bail,” she said.
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) previously said it had begun investigations into the case and said it could not comment further as it was under investigation by ECDA and the police.
The accused has been dismissed by the preschool, and ECDA said it would not allow him to work in the preschool sector while investigations are ongoing.
ECDA stressed that it conducts background checks on staff, including non-teaching staff, before any deployment to preschools.