SINGAPORE: A former preschool principal who failed to report the molestation of a toddler by a school cook was sentenced to 10 days’ jail on Wednesday (Apr 1), even though the prosecution sought a fine of at least S$8,000 (US$6,200).
The 62-year-old woman, who cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the identity of the victim, had pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to report the cook’s offence. Another charge of conspiring to obstruct justice was taken into consideration.
In sentencing, the judge pointed to the “striking” irony that the principal had been attending a course on safeguarding children from abuse when she first learnt of the offence.
The judge said the case serves as “a sobering reminder that child protection cannot be reduced to the mere completion of courses or formal training”, but that educators must internalise and “faithfully discharge” the responsibilities that accompany the profound trust placed in them.
The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, was sentenced in November to more than nine years’ jail for molesting three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023.
WHAT HAPPENED
The abuse surfaced on Nov 16, 2023, when the vice-principal inadvertently discovered incriminating footage of Teo while reviewing CCTV footage for an unrelated matter.
At the time, the executive director and principal were overseas attending a course on protecting children from abuse.
The three women discussed the issue with the chairwoman of the school’s management committee in November 2023, when the vice-principal said she would rather not know what Teo had done if she were the mother of the victim.
The principal broke down in tears at this meeting.
