Ex-preschool teacher who contested charge found guilty of ill-treating 2-year-old girl

SINGAPORE: A teacher who had contested a charge of ill-treating a two-year-old girl in her care in 2022 was found guilty on Wednesday (Oct 22).

Thirty-two-year-old Wu Jiaying, who hails from China, had said that she had merely been endeavouring to calm the toddler down and gain control of the situation.

However, her submissions were rejected by the court, which found that the charge of ill-treatment had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a CNA report.

Wu will be sentenced at a later date. She faces as much as eight years of jail time, a maximum fine of S$8,000, or both, for having ill-treated a child.

Incident in 2022

The incident in question occurred between 10:17 a.m. and 11:22 a.m. on May 11, 2022. Together with another teacher, Wu was in charge of a Nursery 1 class where the toddler was enrolled.

CNA reported in July, during Wu’s trial, that footage from CCTV showed the former teacher carrying the child and then putting her on the ground. She was then seen grabbing the girl’s left arm, lifting her, and then dragging her into another part of the room.

Wu can also be seen in the footage shaking the little girl.

The other teacher, meanwhile, was also present in the classroom during the incident.

“The accused was captured grabbing the victim’s right shoulder and (dragging) the victim to face the accused. The accused continued with her work for a brief period before turning her attention to the victim again.

“She used her left finger to repeatedly point at the victim’s forehead. The accused then grabbed the victim’s left shoulder,” CNA quoted Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Matthew Choo as saying at Wu’s trial on July 1.

The girl’s mother told the school heads later that day that her child had a scratch on her face. After the principal watched the footage, she filed a police report and terminated the teacher. The child’s parents, meanwhile, withdrew her from the school.

Wu’s defence

Aside from claiming that she had only been trying to get her class under control, the former teacher also said that she was under much stress due to work and that she suffered from major depressive disorder. Moreover, she said she did not have the training to handle a child with special needs, and that when she reported the matter to school authorities, her feedback was not taken seriously.

However, the prosecution upheld its charge, saying that she had ill-treated the child consciously and intentionally and had caused her pain.

Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu also noted that Wu had endeavoured to minimise the intensity of her actions towards the little girl, characterising them merely as “inappropriate” and saying that she had “not (been) gentle enough.” /TISG

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