A three-year-old boy enrolled in a pre-school in the north-east was allegedly locked in a dark room and hit, pinched and screamed at by his teachers on more than one occasion.
The boy’s mother said she lodged a police report on Monday. She said the boy had been attending the pre-school for more than a year, but it was only in January 2024 that she noticed the child was becoming more and more afraid of going to school.
In the evenings, meltdowns and nightmares were becoming more frequent, and he was also engaging in violent behaviour like pinching and “chopping” others, she said.
On the night of Feb 22, her son confided in her, saying his teachers had locked him in a dark room the day before, and that it had been punishment for playing with water in the school’s bathroom. He said was alone in the room, but it is unclear for how long he was confined.
The mother said she reported the incident to the school on Feb 23.
A few nights later, the boy told the mother that the teachers had pinched him the day he was locked in the room.
Speaking to The Straits Times, she said: “Two teachers took turns to open the door to shout at him and intimidate him as he stood there crying.”
In an e-mail circular sent to parents, the pre-school’s director said the school was alerted to a recent case of “child mismanagement” and was “taking action to address this matter”.
The school has reported the incident to the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and is fully cooperating with investigations, said the director. ECDA is a government agency that oversees kindergartens and childcare centres in Singapore.
The director added that three teachers involved in the incident have been suspended to “ensure the integrity of the investigation process and to prevent further occurrences”.
The Straits Times
