SINGAPORE: A former preschool principal who had failed to report the molestation of a toddler by a cook was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Wednesday (Apr 1).
This was despite the prosecution seeking only a fine of at least S$8,000 (US$6,200).
The judge said the irony was "striking", as the principal was taking part in a course about safeguarding children from abuse when she first learnt about the sexual abuse.
She said this "serves as a sobering reminder that child protection cannot be reduced to the mere completion of courses or formal training", but that educators must internalise and "faithfully discharge" the responsibilities that accompany the "profound trust" placed in them.
The 62-year-old woman cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim, which cover her identity and the school name.
She had pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to report the cook's offence, with another charge of conspiring to obstruct justice taken into consideration.
The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, had been sentenced in November to more than nine years’ jail for molesting three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023.
The vice-principal had inadvertently discovered the molestation while reviewing CCTV footage for an unrelated matter on Nov 16, 2023.
At the time, the executive director and principal were overseas attending a course on protecting children from abuse.
The three women discussed the issue with the chairwoman of the school's management committee in November 2023, where the vice-principal said she would rather not know what Teo had done if she were the mother of the victim.
The principal broke down in tears at this meeting.
While the chairwoman originally said she would not make a police report, she changed her mind and told the women she would be lodging one.
The trio agreed to tender their resignations as earlier discussed, but the executive director and vice-principal further agreed to overwrite or delete incriminating footage.
The duo later pressured the principal to agree to this, and the vice-principal reformatted the hard discs of the CCTV system on the executive director’s instruction.
They had another meeting with the chairwoman, where an ambulance had to be called for the principal, as she was hyperventilating and crying.
A police report was made in early December 2023, and Teo was arrested.
The police found that all three of the hard discs on the preschool’s CCTV system had been reformatted, but managed to recover incriminating footage.
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) fined the preschool S$26,200, restricted new enrolments and shortened its licence tenure from 36 months to six months.
ECDA also took action against four members of the preschool's management, and had barred three of them from working in the preschool sector since April 2024.
The former executive director was previously given four months' jail, while the former vice-principal was given three months and two weeks' jail.
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This was despite the prosecution seeking only a fine of at least S$8,000 (US$6,200).
The judge said the irony was "striking", as the principal was taking part in a course about safeguarding children from abuse when she first learnt about the sexual abuse.
She said this "serves as a sobering reminder that child protection cannot be reduced to the mere completion of courses or formal training", but that educators must internalise and "faithfully discharge" the responsibilities that accompany the "profound trust" placed in them.
The 62-year-old woman cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the victim, which cover her identity and the school name.
She had pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to report the cook's offence, with another charge of conspiring to obstruct justice taken into consideration.
The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, had been sentenced in November to more than nine years’ jail for molesting three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023.
The vice-principal had inadvertently discovered the molestation while reviewing CCTV footage for an unrelated matter on Nov 16, 2023.
At the time, the executive director and principal were overseas attending a course on protecting children from abuse.
The three women discussed the issue with the chairwoman of the school's management committee in November 2023, where the vice-principal said she would rather not know what Teo had done if she were the mother of the victim.
The principal broke down in tears at this meeting.
While the chairwoman originally said she would not make a police report, she changed her mind and told the women she would be lodging one.
The trio agreed to tender their resignations as earlier discussed, but the executive director and vice-principal further agreed to overwrite or delete incriminating footage.
The duo later pressured the principal to agree to this, and the vice-principal reformatted the hard discs of the CCTV system on the executive director’s instruction.
They had another meeting with the chairwoman, where an ambulance had to be called for the principal, as she was hyperventilating and crying.
A police report was made in early December 2023, and Teo was arrested.
The police found that all three of the hard discs on the preschool’s CCTV system had been reformatted, but managed to recover incriminating footage.
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) fined the preschool S$26,200, restricted new enrolments and shortened its licence tenure from 36 months to six months.
ECDA also took action against four members of the preschool's management, and had barred three of them from working in the preschool sector since April 2024.
The former executive director was previously given four months' jail, while the former vice-principal was given three months and two weeks' jail.
Continue reading...