Former kindergarten worker gets jail after dragging 5-year-old boy across floor, pulling his hair for misbehaving

SINGAPORE — Frustrated that a five-year-old child was not following her instructions and misbehaving, a student-care officer grabbed him and yanked him here and there across the classroom, at one point swinging him repeatedly against the floor. 
The woman, a 54-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced on Friday (Aug 23) to a jail term of 26 weeks — or about six months — after she pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treatment of a child or young person in her care, under the Children and Young Persons Act. 
At the time, she was a student-care officer looking after students enrolled in a kindergarten childcare programme, including the boy, who would be at the centre from 12pm to 6.30pm on weekdays. 
The boy, now aged seven, the offender and the kindergarten cannot be named by court order to protect the victim’s identity.
On Feb 15 in 2022, the woman was tasked with preparing snacks at tea time for the kindergarten students and watching over them.
She then noticed the boy and another student playing with water at the sink in the classroom. 
She became irritated that they did not follow her instructions to sit down and eat their snacks. 
Instead, the two children filled bottles with water and poured the water on the bookshelves. 
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Natalie Chu said: “She was also angry that they had been disruptive earlier during the nap session.” 
Shortly after, at around 3.10pm, the woman proceeded to grab the boy by both his arms and dragged him away from the sink. 
He fell to the ground and tried to get away, but she continued to drag him along the floor before pulling him up to his feet later.
She then grabbed his right arm and walked him across the classroom and back to the sink area. 
Court documents stated that she grew “increasingly stressed” when the boy seemingly remained uncooperative when he saw the wet floor near the sink. 
She proceeded to grab his arms and swung him repeatedly against the ground for about six seconds. This caused the lower half of his body to hit the wet floor several times. 
Then, she pulled him to a cabinet beside the sink, where she sat on top of the cabinet and held him by his shoulders in front of her. 
She then grabbed his hair and pushed the back of his head towards the floor, causing him to kneel and curl up in pain. 
After that, she pulled him up, gripped his right arm tightly and pushed through a small group of students to start gathering the boy’s belongings. 
When he reached for his belongings, she snatched them away from him. The boy fell to his knees, refusing to move. 
She then dragged him along the classroom floor for about 40 seconds. 
The incident was captured on surveillance cameras located within the classroom.
That night, when the boy returned home, his father noticed scratch marks on his face and the back of his neck. 
The father asked him what had happened and the boy said that the woman caused the marks but did not elaborate much. 
The next day, his parents alerted the centre’s head of the kindergarten, who proceeded to review the recorded footage with the kindergarten’s vice-principal. 
The head of the kindergarten also informed the woman’s employer about the incident and the woman resigned on Feb 17, 2022. No further details were given about the her employment terms and arrangement with the kindergarten.
A police report was made by the head of the kindergarten six days after the woman resigned.
The boy was taken to the National University Hospital to receive medical attention a day after the police report was made. Doctors found a faint superficial scratch measuring 0.5cm long near his head and a healing bruise over his right shoulder. 
DPP Chu sought a sentence of eight to nine months’ jail, saying that the offender’s “violence” did not just affect the victim and his parents but also the children in the classroom who witnessed part of the assault. 
“It is not only traumatising for these young children to witness such cruelty, but also sends the wrong signal that the use of physical force is acceptable,” DPP Chu added. 
She also said that the victim was violated in a place where he should have felt “safe and secure”.
“Nothing can restore the loss of his innocence.”
The offender appeared in person in court and was represented by Mr Muhammad Hasif Abdul Aziz, a lawyer from the law firm AW Law. 
In an earlier hearing, Mr Hasif had pleaded for his client to be fined an amount not exceeding S$8,000, saying that she had not received “formal training” in caring for children.
District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said that “deterrence” is key to protecting young children in cases such as these. 
She noted the “gross physical disparity” between the offender and the victim, but accepted that the offender’s actions were not premeditated.
However, she added that the woman’s lack of “formal training” is not a mitigating factor.
“A fine is woefully inadequate,” District Judge Lee asserted. 
For ill-treating a child or young person in their care, the woman could have been jailed for up to eight years or fined up to S$8,000, or both.