SINGAPORE — A 40-year-old woman has been charged with ill-treating a one-year-old girl that was placed under her care at a preschool.

She allegedly hit the girl's face multiple times on the afternoon of March 15 this year, resulting in broken blood vessels on the child's right cheek.

The Singaporean was handed the charge on Friday (Dec 8) under the Children and Young Persons Act.

In court, the prosecution applied for a gag order to be imposed on the basis that the preschool was an infant care provider and the girl was under the woman's care.

District Judge Terence Tay granted the order, which means that the woman, child and location of the preschool cannot be named to protect the victim's identity.

The woman, who was not represented by a lawyer, appeared in court and told the judge that she was ready to plead guilty and will not be engaging a counsel.

She will return to court on Jan 17 for her next hearing.

If found guilty of ill-treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act, she could be jailed for up to eight years or fined up to S$8,000, or both.

ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST PRESCHOOL, STAFF MEMBERS INVOLVED

Responding to TODAY's queries, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said that the preschool "immediately" suspended the duties of the woman involved after the incident on March 15. Her employment was terminated on March 20.

"ECDA also investigated the incident when it was reported by the preschool on March 16 and has taken actions against the preschool and the staff involved under the Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC) Regulations, which includes not allowing the staff to work in the preschool sector." 

In an update on Dec 9, ECDA added that it had issued a warning to the preschool operator and imposed a fine for its failure to ensure that its staff "adopt appropriate child management practices".

"There are explicit provisions in the ECDC regulations which clearly stipulate the actions that all staff cannot subject children to, including corporal punishment such as striking a child or any other form of aggressive contact, and the operator has an obligation to ensure their staff comply with the requirements." 

The agency had also issued a warning to the woman for breaching ECDC regulations and has barred her from working in the preschool sector.

As the woman has been charged, ECDA said that it is unable to comment further on the details, pending the outcome of the police investigation.

It stressed that preschools are required to report all serious incidents that have an impact on the safety of children and staff members to ECDA within 24 hours.

"ECDA follows up on every alleged child mismanagement incident through unannounced visits to preschools, interviews and verification of records, and immediate action will be taken if the findings support the allegation." 

Preschool operators are also reminded through regular ECDA briefings and circulars to ensure vigilant supervision of children and employees, while also providing guidance and support on classroom management.

The agency emphasised that it places child safety as its top priority and follows up on all reported cases of child mismanagement and sets out clear policies and requirements that establish the "baseline for a safe and positive learning environment" in preschools.

"There are explicit provisions in the ECDC Act and Regulations, which make clear the obligations of operators, centres and all staff in discharging their duty of care for children. This includes actions staff cannot subject children to," it added.

In addition, it has also issued a code of practice to set out what preschools have to do to ensure their employees can properly manage children and communicate with them through "positive and developmentally appropriate methods".