Woman charged with ill-treatment of child; she allegedly hit 1-year-old multiple times
A 40-year-old woman has been accused of repeatedly hitting a one-year-old girl and causing her to suffer linear ecchymosis, which is bleeding under the skin.
The incident allegedly happened on March 15 at around 5pm. The Straits Times understands it occurred at a pre-school.
According to the prosecution, the woman is an infant care provider, and the child was under her care.
The woman was charged on Dec 8 with one count of ill-treating the child who was under her care.
Those convicted of ill-treating a child or a young person who they had care of, can be jailed for up to eight years, fined up to $8,000, or both.
The woman told the court she has not engaged a lawyer, and is intending to plead guilty. She will be back in court on Jan 17.
ST has reached out to the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), which regulates and develops the early childhood sector.
The agency had announced in August 2023 that closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be made mandatory in all pre-schools and government-funded early intervention centres by July 2024.
ECDA said the move is part of its regular review of security and safety measures in the early childhood sector, and not related to any case.
The announcement came in the wake of ongoing investigations into the alleged abuse of several children attending Kinderland centres.
Videos of two teachers allegedly manhandling children had surfaced online earlier this year, sparking a public outcry.
ECDA previously said it was also looking into another incident of “child mismanagement” at EQ-Learners Educare in Choa Chu Kang, a pre-school under the same operator.
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