Kinderland abuse: ex-teacher issued new charges for restraining girl to chair, hitting boy’s buttocks with book

Former Kinderland teacher issued new charges for abusing 3 children

Today (28 Feb), a former Kinderland teacher was issued five new charges for child abuse.

Amongst the accusations made were that 34-year-old Lin Min used a book to hit a boy’s buttocks and restrained a girl to a chair.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

In August last year, she was charged for ill-treating a 23-month-old girl by forcefully pouring water into her mouth.

5 fresh charges involve 3 other children

Shin Min Daily News reported that the five charges involved three other children aged two and three. The instances of child abuse took place between May and July 2023.

On 27 June 2023, Lin allegedly forced a three-year-old boy to lie down before stuffing a milk bottle into his mouth to make him drink.

Three days later, she was accused of handling the same boy roughly.

Between 2 May and 29 July 2023, she restrained a three-year-old girl to a chair and poured water into her mouth, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).

Lin was also accused of hitting a two-year-old boy’s buttocks using a book on another occasion. She allegedly did so for a total of five times.

She is currently out on a S$15,000 bail and will attend a pre-trial conference on 1 Mar.

Child abuse cases at Kinderland first surfaced in 2023

In 2023, videos of incidents of child abuse at Kinderland preschool began circulating online.

The cases at two centres involved Lin and another staff member. In particular, the 34-year-old was charged for ill-treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act, noted CNA.

Source: Facebook

On 20 Feb, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) fined the preschool S$10,000 for failing to supervise its centres and staff effectively.

Kinderland has since enhanced its child management systems and apologised to the affected families.

If Lin proves guilty of ill-treating a child, she faces a maximum eight-year jail term, up to S$8,000 fine, or both.

For using criminal force, Lin could be imprisoned for up to three months, fined a maximum of S$1,500, or both.

Also read: Kinderland HQ didn’t oversee centres effectively, fined S$10K for 2 incidents of child mismanagement: ECDA

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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Shin Min Daily News.