An infant care teacher in Singapore was sentenced to nine months in jail on Wednesday (17 April) for slapping a 13-month-old girl who refused to drink milk.
The incident was brought to light when the child’s father noticed a red mark on her face and urged the preschool to investigate.
In court, the 40-year-old teacher pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating the infant.
Both the teacher’s and the infant’s identities are not public due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the teacher, who is no longer employed, was in charge of infants between two and 18 months old.
Her responsibilities included feeding them and changing their diapers, among other caretaking jobs.
On 15 March 2023 at around 5.20pm, she attempted to feed the 13-month-old girl milk from a bottle, but the infant refused.
Source: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only
In response, the teacher used her leg to restrain the baby’s hands and attempted to force her mouth open.
She then slapped the child across the cheek when the baby resisted.
Furthermore, she also pushed the girl, who was crying, into a crawling position.
When a colleague noticed the red mark on the infant’s face about 20 minutes later, the accused remained silent.
Instead, she applied an ice pack to the baby’s face before leaving at 6pm.
At about 6.15pm, the baby’s father arrived to pick her up from the infant care centre.
He was reportedly informed that his daughter had fallen from her cot.
Dissatisfied with the explanation, he insisted that the preschool review surveillance footage of the incident.
Around 7pm, a colleague informed the teacher that the baby’s father was angry over the girl’s injury.
It was at this point that the accused confessed to what happened.
Consequently, the preschool suspended the teacher on 16 March and terminated her employment on 20 March.
The school later met with the father on 28 March after his return from overseas.
Upon learning of the incident, the father filed a police report, leading to the teacher’s arrest on 5 December.
Requesting nine to 10 months’ jail for the teacher, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir highlighted the child’s vulnerability.
He added that the teacher could have gotten away with the offence if not for the mark on the victim’s face.
“This is compounded by the accused’s evasion,” he said. “She was not forthcoming at the start and kept mum when asked about the red mark.”
The father, who cried when the surveillance footage was played in court, expressed to reporters that he was glad the teacher was going to jail.
However, the teacher has yet to apologise for her actions.
Additionally, the mark on the baby’s face lasted for a week following the incident.
“She was just a baby and I cannot fathom how someone could do this to her,” he said.
Justice was served for my daughter today.
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Featured image adapted from dontree_m on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
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