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SINGAPORE \u2013 The pre-school teacher who allegedly abused three babies has been barred from working in any pre-school, said the\u00a0Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)\u00a0on Nov 21.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old Singaporean woman, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, was handed three charges under the Children and Young Persons Act on Nov 20.<\/p>\n
On Sept 23, 2024,\u00a0she <\/p>\n allegedly force-fed a 12-month-old child<\/p>\n <\/a> until she vomited, and hit\u00a0her\u00a0on her face and back.<\/p>\n Two days later, she allegedly stuffed a bib into\u00a0an eight-month-old baby\u2019s\u00a0mouth and put a blanket over the child\u2019s face.<\/p>\n That day, she also allegedly ill-treated\u00a0a third child, who was 10 months old, by hitting the child on the right hand.\u00a0She purportedly lifted a bumper chair the child was sitting in and dropped it from knee height.<\/p>\n On Nov 21, 2025, ECDA said\u00a0in a statement that the pre-school was alerted to the incidents involving the woman on Sept 25, 2024.<\/p>\n After reviewing the CCTV footage, the pre-school fired her on Sept 26 that year and notified ECDA the next day.<\/p>\n The pre-school also lodged a police report.\u00a0<\/p>\n ECDA said it has acted against the pre-school and the educator for breaches of the Early Childhood Development Centres Regulations.<\/p>\n The educator involved has been barred from working in any pre-school.<\/p>\n ECDA has also taken action against the centre\u2019s principal and two other staff.<\/p>\n The agency said it was unable to share more details of the regulatory breaches in this case as court proceedings are in progress.<\/p>\n It added: \u201cRegulatory lapses that compromise children\u2019s safety and well-being in pre-schools are not acceptable. ECDA will take firm action against pre-school operators\u00a0or\u00a0staff who are found guilty of not fulfilling their duty of care to the children under their charge.\u201d<\/p>\n It said all pre-school operators must\u00a0have measures\u00a0to keep children safe. These include ensuring that educators use developmentally\u00a0appropriate\u00a0practices\u00a0when interacting with children, and receive proper supervision and guidance when carrying out their duties.<\/p>\n This incident is the latest involving abuse at pre-school centres that has worried parents.<\/p>\n On Aug 19,\u00a0pre-school teacher Alamelu Paramaguru was <\/p>\n jailed for four days for\u00a0ill-treating a child<\/p>\n <\/a>.<\/p>\n She had\u00a0forcefully kicked and bruised the shin of a four-year-old pupil\u00a0whom\u00a0she thought had caused her to nearly trip.<\/p>\n On Oct 28, <\/p>\n a Singaporean woman was sentenced to six months\u2019 jail<\/p>\n <\/a> after she pleaded guilty to two counts of ill-treating a child in July 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n She was working\u00a0as a programme staff\u00a0member at a care service provider for kindergarten children when she ill-treated three victims\u00a0aged\u00a0four and five.<\/p>\n And on Nov 10, Teo\u00a0Guan\u00a0Huat, a\u00a0former cook at a pre-school in Singapore, was sentenced to nine years, four months and seven weeks in jail for <\/p>\n molesting three\u00a0toddler girls there<\/p>\n <\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The prosecution said this was one of the most horrendous acts of sexual abuse committed in such a local facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n