Featured image adapted from Teo Guan Huat on LinkedIn and by MS News.
A preschool cook pleaded guilty on Monday (27 Oct) to sexually assaulting three toddlers — aged between one and two years old — on multiple occasions.
61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, a Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident (PR), committed the acts over seven months in 2023 at the preschool where he worked.
Source: Teo Guan Huat on LinkedIn
Despite working as a cook, Teo also helped escort children for their showers, reported The Straits Times (ST).
He would help set up mattresses for nap time and pat the kids to sleep.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Quek Lu Yi, Teo was not supposed to do so as he was not employed to perform these duties.
The 61-year-old committed the lewd acts on three victims in the nap room, while teachers were present but not looking.
He inserted his hands into the three girls’ diapers and molested them several times a week.
Between May and Nov 2023, he sexually assaulted three toddlers twice to thrice a week.
Source: Mars Fluet on Canva. For illustration purposes only
On one occasion, he molested a victim nine times over 25 minutes, while in the same room as 20 children and multiple children.
He would stop when he saw a teacher looking in his direction.
In Nov 2023, a school employee saw CCTV footage of Teo inserting his hand into the diaper of one of his victims.
Source: Nickel_Bell on Canva, for illustration purposes
School management confronted Teo, and he resigned a week later.
However, the police only received a report on the incident on 2 Dec 2023.
During this time, the preschool’s CCTV system was reformatted and the footage erased. The police managed to recover the deleted footage showing a few of Teo’s offences.
Four women received charges for omitting information on sexual assault, three of them related to reformatting the CCTV system.
On Monday (27 Oct), Teo pleaded guilty to three counts of using criminal force to outrage the modesty of toddlers.
Teo confessed that he had erectile dysfunction and committed the offences as he had never been in a relationship.
The 61-year-old added that he “wanted to see and wanted to touch”.
The defendant said he targeted children as they could not speak about the sexual assaults, reducing his chances of being caught.
Additionally, the three victims were closer to him as compared to the other children — they would hug him when they saw him.
Prosecutors described the case as “one of the most horrendous acts of sexual abuse committed in a preschool” and accused Teo of abusing the children’s trust.
She highlighted the young age of Teo’s victims, which made them especially defenceless and vulnerable.
Teo was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). However, the prosecution found that the disorder had no direct contributory link to his actions.
The prosecution sought at least 10 years’ jail for Teo.
Teo’s lawyer, Mr Revi Shanker, agreed that his client’s actions were “very, very wrong”. He also claimed that Teo was remorseful for his crimes.
However, he questioned why the school allowed Teo to care for the children when he was hired to be a cook.
He requested six years’ jail, with no additional time in lieu of caning. Teo cannot be caned as he is above 50.
The judge adjourned sentencing for 10 Nov.
Also read: Man in S’pore allegedly molests toddler at preschool, 4 women accused of covering up evidence
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Featured image adapted from Teo Guan Huat on LinkedIn and by MS News.