Yanking a toddler’s head backwards because he doesn’t want to drink water.
Pinching a girl’s cheeks roughly before placing her on her back and pouring water down her throat.
Hitting a child’s bottom repeatedly with a hard cover book.
These are the actions of a pre-school teacher caught on camera which went viral on social media, including Facebook.
Videos of Pre-School Abuse Goes Viral
On 28 August 2023, three Facebook videos, seemingly recorded on different occasions, went viral for all the wrong reasons.
The first video showed a pre-school teacher yanking a child’s head backwards while trying to force feed him water.
After her attempt, she said with a laugh that she couldn’t do it with just one hand.
Throughout the attempt, the child was seen struggling and crying, before he drank water on his own.
In the second video, the same pre-school teacher was spotted trying to get a female student to drink water.
Presumedly unhappy with her refusal to comply, the teacher forced the girl to lie on her back before pouring water down her throat.
The toddler could be heard coughing and crying during the ordeal.
In the third video, the teacher was spotted scolding and hitting the bottom of a male toddler with a hard cover book.
The incidents had taken place at Kinderland @ Woodlands Mart.
MP Speaks Up about the Matter
As of the time of writing, one of the posts circulated has garnered over 25,000 shares and over 4.1K comments, including Sembawang GRC MP Poh Li San.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Ms Poh says that she is currently assisting the parents of affected children.
Condemning the actions of the pre-school teacher, she said “the staff must be brought to task”.
According to Mothership, Ms Poh was only alerted to the matter after the videos surfaced online.
In response to queries by ST, Ms Poh says a decision on whether the incidents are deemed abusive or not can only be reached after investigations are completed.
Teacher Dismissed & Investigations are Ongoing
Straits Times spoke to one of the parents whose child was caught on video.
According to the parent, the pre-school centre had allegedly tried to downplay the incident. It was only after they saw the video that they knew severity of the incident.
They had lodged a police report on Monday.
The police has confirmed that an investigation has been launched in response to a few police reports.
A spokesperson for the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) added that the pre-school teacher in question, identified as Ms Li, has been dismissed by the school.
ECDA is also investigating the matter, the spokesperson confirmed, and they are unable to give further details at the moment.
Meanwhile, ECDA will continue to work with the centre to ensure the safety of enrolled students.
The agency has also instructed the centre to provide support and guidance to its teachers.
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