SINGAPORE: A father’s nightmare turned into a reality when a preschool teacher who allegedly abused his 18-month-old daughter, who lifted her up and threw her on the ground, pleaded not guilty. With this, the father broke down into tears during his court testimony, declaring that his previously cheerful daughter cried and refused to go to school, and that he was only informed later on that she had been abused.
The 30-year-old victim was initially charged with violating the Child and Youth Act, alleging that she lifted the girl up and slammed her to the ground. More so, she also suspectedly pushed her shoulder, causing the child to fall backward and sit on the ground. However, the suspect pleaded not guilty. To protect the child, the judge ordered the media to not report any information that would reveal the young girl’s identity.
Case details
According to Shin Min Daily News, the father testified in court that his daughter had just moved up from the preschool class to the kindergarten class in May 2024. About three weeks later, his wife received a call from the kindergarten principal, stating that their daughter had been abused and asked them to come to the kindergarten for a meeting and to watch the footage captured by CCTV. Furthermore, the principal also asked the couple to check their daughter’s chest and head for injuries.
When they saw the CCTV footage, they saw that his daughter was being dragged by the suspect and was unable to move due to restraint. It was seen that the suspect threw his daughter to the ground, causing her to appear to have an emotional breakdown.
The father admitted that since the incident, her child’s behavior changed. Her daughter would cry loudly when she knew she was going to school, and for several weeks, she would also cry uncontrollably at night when she heard it was time to go to sleep—she kept on clinging to her schoolbag and refusing to go to sleep.
At first, he thought that his child was just anxious because she had just transferred to kindergarten and she was still adapting to the new environment. He did not expect that the real reason was that his daughter was being abused.
Additionally, the father stated that when the suspect took a sick leave, his daughter’s mood improved when she went to school. But after the suspect returned to school, his daughter’s demeanor changed once again.
During cross-examination, the lawyer pointed out that on the day of the incident, the suspect sent text messages in a group chat and stated information about the girl’s behavior at the preschool. The suspect said that the girl cried and vomited at school, and it showed that the defendant cared about the girl. However, the child’s father disagreed, saying that if the suspect truly cared about the girl, the teacher should have asked his wife to check on her for injuries, instead of only learning from the kindergarten three weeks later and then having to check for injuries.
Other related news
In similar news related to child abuse, there was a report where a 33-year-old Indonesian maid was sent to jail for abusing a 15-month-old child, including pulling his hair, pinching his face, kicking his head, and throwing him.
She pleaded guilty to three charges of intentional assault and was sentenced to 22 weeks’ imprisonment.
Read more about the story here.
