SINGAPORE — The principal of Kinderland Preschool@Woodlands Mart has been removed from her duties after a former teacher was charged this week with ill-treating a child at the centre.

Another teacher at the Kinderland preschool at Sunshine Place in Chua Chu Kang has also been arrested for allegedly mistreating a child.

"Pending the outcome of the investigations by the relevant authorities and our own disciplinary inquiry for both centres, the principal of Woodlands Mart has been removed from her current duties," said Kinderland Singapore in a Facebook post on Thursday (Aug 31).

"We sincerely appeal to the public to refrain from speculation — we will share updates along the way."

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said on Wednesday that it was investigating the centre's principal, Ms Mahirah Yasid, and the operator. 

Further action may be taken if they are found not to have fulfilled their duty of care to the children, added the agency.

The teacher who was charged, Lin Min, is accused of ill-treating a 23-month-old child on Jun 30 at the Woodlands Mart centre. Court documents showed that she allegedly forced the girl to lie down and poured water into her mouth.

The 33-year-old was also seen in other videos rough-handling children under her care. She has been fired and is barred from the preschool sector.

The incidents sparked anger online among parents who questioned the preschool's handling of the cases.

In its Facebook post on Thursday, Kinderland Singapore apologised for the "worry and anxiety that the recent videos" have caused to parents and the public.

It added that it is monitoring the well-being of the affected children.

"Counselling and additional support will be offered to the parents of the affected classes," said the preschool chain.

ECDA is looking into a separate case of another Kinderland teacher who allegedly hit a child at a preschool branch at Sunshine Place. The teacher, a 48-year-old woman, was arrested on Tuesday.

Kinderland said on Tuesday that it would expand the use of closed-circuit television cameras to all classrooms and children activity areas at both the Woodlands Mart and Sunshine Place centres.

It added that it would “manage” the mental health of new and current teachers with weekly and monthly meet-up sessions with the principal.

The preschool chain has additionally set up an extra point of contact for parents to directly contact centres and headquarters on any matters. 

In a subsequent statement on Facebook, Kinderland Singapore said on Wednesday evening that staff members will not be allowed to use their personal devices during teaching hours.

Kinderland explained that this new policy was aimed at preventing the "misuse of photos and videos of our children".

"To safeguard our children's privacy, Kinderland has in place company-issued devices to manage all communications with parents. This includes sharing photos and videos through a Pre-School Management App to inform parents of their child's progress," it added.

Kinderland emphasised that employees should use the app with authorised company-issued devices. CNA