Pre-school teacher jailed for child abuse

In response, the boy smacked her thigh. The woman retaliated by slapping his arm.

When other teachers heard the commotion, the teacher closed the classroom door and began to berate the boy. She also slapped him twice, causing him to hit his head against the cupboard.

The physical abuse was witnessed by the school principal, who carried the boy out of the classroom and called his mother.

When the boy’s mother asked him what had happened, the boy initially denied that he had been abused, as the woman had told him not to tell his parents about the incident.

The boy’s mother made a police report on the same day. Court documents do not state if the boy sustained any injury.

During her interview with police officers, the woman said she did not slap the boy, even after she was shown CCTV footage of the incident. She claimed she had merely “nudged the side of his head”.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin called for a sentence of at least eight months’ jail for the woman.

He said: “The role of teachers is sacred. When children, particularly toddlers, are placed in their care, they are separated from their families and are put in an unfamiliar environment.

“Society reposes a high degree of trust in teachers to ensure that its most vulnerable and defenceless are suitably cared for when their caretakers are not watching.

“It is this trust that the accused violated when she struck the victim multiple times, causing his head to collide into a cupboard.”

He added that the woman was unremorseful and had even lied to the police during investigations.

For the ill-treatment of a child in their care, an offender can be fined up to $8,000, jailed up to eight years, or both.