SINGAPORE: The former vice-principal and executive director at a preschool were jailed on Monday (Jan 19) for their involvement in the cover-up of molestation by a cook at the school.
The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, was given more than nine years’ jail for molesting three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023.
The 59-year-old former executive director was given four months' jail, while the 49-year-old former vice-principal was given three months and two weeks' jail.
They had failed to report Teo's acts, conspired to reformat a closed-circuit television camera that contained incriminating footage and conspired to delete video evidence of the acts.
A gag order protecting the identities of the victims, who were between one and two at the time of the offences, and the name of the preschool prohibits publication of the women’s names.
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.
After discussing what to do with the footage, the vice-principal and executive director conspired to delete it from their phones.
They raised the issue with the chairwoman of the school's management committee on Nov 22, 2023.
At the meeting, the executive director said there would be implications for the preschool if a police report were made, such as police interviews.
She also said the victim was asleep and may not have suffered any impact, suggesting to settle the matter quietly by asking Teo to resign instead.
The chairwoman said Teo's acts could still be registered in the victim's memory, and if there were adverse effects, it was best for there to be early intervention.
The vice-principal then said that if she were the mother of the girl, she would rather not know what Teo had done to her.
The principal broke down in tears and said she did not want the children to be withdrawn from school, acknowledging a lapse on the preschool's part.
After the meeting, the chairwoman told the offenders that she had decided not to make a police report and to dismiss Teo.
Teo later resigned when given a choice to do so or be fired.
The chairwoman later changed her mind and told the women that she would be lodging a police report.
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 (US$20,365), 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.
In sentencing the former vice-principal and executive director, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said children in preschools are uniquely vulnerable as they are unable to advocate for themselves or even comprehend the dangers they may face.
"It is therefore the educators' paramount duty to act as their protectors, shield them from harm and ensure their environment is one that is safe," said the judge.
She pointed to the women's "wilful failure" to report child sexual abuse and their "profound betrayal" of the trust society had placed in them.
The judge said the women were "plainly motivated by a desire to protect their own interests", and their conspiracy to delete the footage placed an "entirely unnecessary" burden on the police in recovering the footage.
She said their selfish actions were highly aggravating.
The 62-year-old principal had also pleaded guilty to various charges but will be sentenced at a later date after the judge on Monday called for further information to aid sentencing from both the defence and prosecution.
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The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, was given more than nine years’ jail for molesting three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023.
The 59-year-old former executive director was given four months' jail, while the 49-year-old former vice-principal was given three months and two weeks' jail.
They had failed to report Teo's acts, conspired to reformat a closed-circuit television camera that contained incriminating footage and conspired to delete video evidence of the acts.
A gag order protecting the identities of the victims, who were between one and two at the time of the offences, and the name of the preschool prohibits publication of the women’s names.
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.
After discussing what to do with the footage, the vice-principal and executive director conspired to delete it from their phones.
They raised the issue with the chairwoman of the school's management committee on Nov 22, 2023.
At the meeting, the executive director said there would be implications for the preschool if a police report were made, such as police interviews.
She also said the victim was asleep and may not have suffered any impact, suggesting to settle the matter quietly by asking Teo to resign instead.
The chairwoman said Teo's acts could still be registered in the victim's memory, and if there were adverse effects, it was best for there to be early intervention.
The vice-principal then said that if she were the mother of the girl, she would rather not know what Teo had done to her.
The principal broke down in tears and said she did not want the children to be withdrawn from school, acknowledging a lapse on the preschool's part.
After the meeting, the chairwoman told the offenders that she had decided not to make a police report and to dismiss Teo.
Teo later resigned when given a choice to do so or be fired.
The chairwoman later changed her mind and told the women that she would be lodging a police report.
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 (US$20,365), 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.
In sentencing the former vice-principal and executive director, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said children in preschools are uniquely vulnerable as they are unable to advocate for themselves or even comprehend the dangers they may face.
"It is therefore the educators' paramount duty to act as their protectors, shield them from harm and ensure their environment is one that is safe," said the judge.
She pointed to the women's "wilful failure" to report child sexual abuse and their "profound betrayal" of the trust society had placed in them.
The judge said the women were "plainly motivated by a desire to protect their own interests", and their conspiracy to delete the footage placed an "entirely unnecessary" burden on the police in recovering the footage.
She said their selfish actions were highly aggravating.
The 62-year-old principal had also pleaded guilty to various charges but will be sentenced at a later date after the judge on Monday called for further information to aid sentencing from both the defence and prosecution.
Continue reading...