.JPG%3Fitok%3D7Tyct7WM&w=3840&q=100)
Preschool teacher admits to deliberately tripping toddler, who fell and bled from nose
SINGAPORE: A preschool teacher who deliberately swept her legs under a toddler several times, causing her to fall flat twice, admitted to her charges on Monday (Jun 16).
As a result of her fall, the 20-month-old girl bled from her nose and bruised her face.
Saiidah Kamarudin, 34, pleaded guilty to one out of two counts of ill treating the girl, causing her unnecessary pain and injury. Saiidah initially claimed trial but decided to plead guilty on the first day after some delay.
The victim and the childcare centre she attended cannot be named to protect her identity.
Saiidah began working for the childcare centre in end-September 2023 but tendered her resignation the following month. Her employment lasted until mid-November 2023.
Saiidah's actions were captured by a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV), with the footage played in court.
As part of her duties, Saiidah cared for students who attended the centre, including the victim, who was in a playgroup class.
In November 2023, Saiidah brought the toddler to the toilet to clean her up slightly after noon. As the girl stood before her, Saiidah, who was seated, used a piece of tissue to wipe her face.
At one point, Saiidah swept her leg outwards to catch the toddler's foot, causing the girl to stumble.
Saiidah then swept inwards with her leg, tripping the toddler, who fell backwards onto the floor.
The teacher, who was significantly larger than the toddler, then lifted the girl back to her feet before cleaning her face with the tissue.
Shortly after, Saiidah positioned the victim in front of her to walk out of the toilet area.
She then swept her foot to catch the victim on one leg, causing her to stumble.
At about 12.30pm, Saiidah repeated the sweeping motion with her leg, catching the toddler on both legs. The toddler fell forward on her face.
At this point, the victim began to cry, and Saiidah picked her up. The toddler bled from one nostril and had a bruise on her cheek.
Hearing the cries, another teacher, came to check on the girl. The teacher then placed the toddler down to nap. By the time the toddler woke up, one side of her face had swelled up.
A doctor who examined the toddler following the incident found that she had mild bruises on her face.
The toddler's father filed a police report a few days later, expressing dissatisfaction with the school's explanation of how his daughter sustained her injuries.
He requested access to the school's CCTV on the day of the incident.
Saiidah will return to court on Jul 28 for mitigation and sentencing.
For ill treating a child, an offence under the Children and Young Persons Act, an offender can be jailed up to eight years, or fined up to S$8,000 (US$6,200), or both.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
25 minutes ago
- CNA
Jail for man who forged signatures in letters on fire safety over NLB renovation works
SINGAPORE: An employee of a project consultant who wanted to "finish the job quicker" used the signature of a professional engineer on documents concerning fire safety requirements without the engineer's permission. The forged documents that Ma Lai Fatt, 56, submitted were for works at the basement of the National Library Board (NLB) in Bugis. Ma was sentenced to three months' jail on Tuesday (Jun 17) after he pleaded guilty to two out of three counts of forgery, with the last taken into consideration for his sentencing. The NLB renovated its building to convert existing space to office use in basement two. The works in 2022 involved the installation of a mobile pod, an enclosed booth for staff use, and wall partitions in another area. For the works, NLB engaged P&A Link, an interior design company which was also a renovation contractor. P&A then engaged Marchitects as a project consultant for the renovation works. Ma was an employee of Marchitects. Ma was responsible for liaising with principal engineers, who were qualified to give certification for compliance with fire safety regulations. The regulations concerned the installation of sprinklers that covered the mobile pod, and a public announcement system in the area with the new wall partitions. For the mobile pod, P&A felt that it would not be necessary to install sprinklers within the pod, as the existing sprinklers on the ceiling above would cover the pod in the event of a fire. P&A could apply for a waiver for the requirement to install sprinklers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), but it needed the endorsement of a principal engineer. P&A then asked Marchitects to obtain endorsement from a principal engineer. Around Oct 30, 2021, Ma created a letter and affixed the signature of a principal engineer, Mr Chen Kum Seng, on it without Mr Chen's authorisation. Ma had extracted Mr Chen's signature from previous documents out of his own convenience, and from a desire to "finish the job quicker", the prosecution said. Unaware of the forgery, P&A submitted the letter to NLB on Nov 1, 2021. Similarly for the wall partitions, P&A felt that no modification of the existing public announcement system was needed. P&A was required to submit an undertaking by a principal engineer to SCDF to show that the system would not be impacted by the installation of the new wall partitions. P&A approached Marchitects to obtain an undertaking from a principal engineer. Around Mar 4, 2022, Ma created an undertaking letter to state that the addition of the partitions within the space did not affect the sound volume of the public announcement system. He again attached Mr Chen's electronic signature on the letter without his permission. This letter was submitted to NLB on Apr 14, 2022. A sound test on Jul 13, 2022 showed that certain areas within the new partitioned space failed to meet the minimum volume requirements required by the SCDF. In late June 2022, while reviewing two electronic letters from P&A, an NLB officer noticed that the mobile number stated on two documents did not belong to the companies involved, or to Mr Chen. The officer also found that Mr Chen's signatures could be moved around, and the content of the letters could be modified. NLB sought Mr Chen's verification and the principal engineer confirmed he did not issue the letters. NLB then lodged a police report. While there was no monetary loss arising from Ma's offences, NLB had to delay its opening to remedy the effects of Ma's actions. The prosecution asked for Ma to be jailed for at least three months. Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin said a jail term was warranted due to the seriousness of the mischief, which occurred on multiple occasions. Ms Wong highlighted that the forgery concerned public safety issues. "Had the forgery not been detected and remedied in time, the existing public announcement system would pose a real risk to NLB staff in the event of a fire as it would not have been loud enough to inform NLB staff about potential emergencies," Ms Wong said. A defence lawyer from Exodus Law Corporation reiterated that Ma had not gained financially, nor caused any monetary loss.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Jail for private tutor who filmed himself in lewd acts as he stood behind young female students
SINGAPORE: A man who tutored female students at his flat would commit sexual acts as he stood behind the teen girls, even touching them with his private parts. The girls would be unaware of these acts as Michael Martin Lee Teck Heng, now aged 58, would place his hand on the back or shoulder of the girl to disguise the contact. His offences came to light after the private tutor was caught exposing himself in public. During investigations, police officers found at least 406 videos which Lee had filmed showing Lee exposing himself, or placing his private parts on their back or shoulder. Lee was sentenced to four years and nine months' jail on Tuesday (Jun 17) after he pleaded guilty to one count of committing an obscene act, one count of making obscene films, three counts of molest, and one count of aggravated molest. Another 10 charges relating to the same incidents were taken into consideration for sentencing. The victims, along with the address of the incident, may not be published under a gag order in order to protect the identities of the victims. HOW HE FILMED TUTEES Lee, who is married, gave mathematics and science tuition to primary and secondary school students in his home one-on-one. In May 2019, he began taking videos of himself committing sexual acts in public behind or at a distance from unsuspecting women. He did the same to tutees whom he was teaching in the living room of his unit, filming the process. A total of five female tutees were identified by the police. They were aged between 13 and 16 at the time of the offences. The victims were unaware of the acts but one of them, a 15-year-old girl, felt something was amiss and felt discomfited by the close proximity with Lee. She suspected the nature of the acts but did not confront him as she felt she might have been overthinking the matter, given her perception that Lee was religious. She also feared that he might do something worse as she was alone with him. On some occasions in 2019, Lee placed his private parts against a 16-year-old victim during their tuition sessions. He disguised the contact by placing his hand on her back or shoulder as he perpetrated lewd acts behind her. Lee claimed he did the acts as this victim had shown him care and concern and he "felt attached" to her. This eldest victim was captured in 228 videos over 13 occasions. YOUNGEST VICTIM Lee did the same with the youngest victim, who was only 13 years old at the time of the offences. She was unaware he took videos of her. "The accused admitted during investigations that the fourth victim was one of his more 'headstrong' students and he had felt a need to 'control' her," the prosecution stated. He stated that he could exert such control by committing the obscene acts. This need to control her accounted for why a high proportion of the videos featured the fourth victim, the prosecution said. On Sept 30, 2019, Lee was seen exposing his private parts at a bus stop by a woman who then called the police. Police officers who responded to the call found Lee to match the description they had been given. They checked his mobile phone and discovered the video he recorded of himself committing sexual acts. He was arrested and his phone seized. During a raid of his house, his computer was also seized. Both devices were sent for forensic examination. Hundreds of obscene films were found on his computer, with at least 545 featuring Lee committing lewd acts in public places while behind or out of sight of unidentified women in 299 incidents. At least 406 videos showed Lee doing the same behind young female subjects or placing his private parts on them in his living room over 31 incidents. In total, between May and September 2019, Lee made 951 obscene films of himself in public and in his home. LEE HAS EXHIBITIONISTIC DISORDER Lee's lawyer Joyce Khoo from law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer argued for around three years and 11 months' jail, while the prosecution sought five to six years' jail. Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said the accused was "clearly one who has no qualms violating young women for his sexual perversion". "Further, the offences committed by the accused against his tutees are difficult to detect and were committed by the accused in his capacity as a tutor, and as someone in a position of authority over them. Both specific and general deterrence comes to the fore. "There is also an element of public protection that warrants consideration," said Ms Lim, describing the sheer number of instances on which Lee had exposed himself in public in the presence of women. "Taken together, the offences cumulatively show that the accused is a menace and a threat to the community. A lengthy sentence is called for to protect the community," she said. In mitigation, Ms Khoo said Lee had suffered from a "litany of diagnosed mental illnesses since 1997", and had "exhibitionistic disorder" at the time of the offences. She submitted at least four medical reports from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) dating back to 1997 in support of her argument. Lee had been undergoing treatment for adjustment disorder since 1997. However, after Lee stopped relying on his medication, he found himself facing stressors from his family and students in 2018 and 2019, which caused him to regress. Lee was assessed to have exhibitionistic disorder in a 2022 medical report, with an IMH doctor stating this disorder had a contributory link to Lee's offences. His risk of offending was found to be low to moderate. "Since our client's arrest in September 2019, our client has constantly expressed extreme remorse for his actions. "Our client has taken concrete steps to manage his psychiatric conditions and dedicated himself to doing everything necessary to ensure that there will not be another relapse," said Ms Khoo. "Our client's efforts since his arrest have borne fruit; our client has not reoffended in almost six years." Ms Khoo said that Lee has stopped giving tuition to focus on managing his psychiatric conditions. Disagreeing that Lee's condition should be accorded mitigating weight, Ms Lim said that the disorder was a "nothing more than a psychiatric label to describe a perverse behaviour". JUDGE'S REMARKS Principal District Judge Toh Han Li noted that exhibitionistic disorder was not an impulse control disorder. The disorder did not impair Lee's ability to exercise self control, and Lee was aware his acts - which he did of his own volition - were wrong, noted Judge Toh. The district judge gave no mitigating weight to the mental condition.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Agency of Thai actor Prom Ratchapat terminates contract with him, following allegations by multiple women
On Sunday (Jun 15), Thai agency YWPB announced that it has terminated its contract with actor Prom Ratchapat, famous for his role in the drama series Jack & Joker, following allegations that Ratchapat had been involved in relationships with multiple women. Allegations against the 26-year-old first surfaced on Saturday after an online user uploaded screenshots of a conversation with Ratchapat, in which the sender claimed that she was pregnant and that he was the father. According to the screenshots, Ratchapat told the sender to get an abortion. When asked by the sender if he would sign the child's birth certificate if she decided not to get an abortion, Ratchapat allegedly replied: "Sorry, I can't do that." View this post on Instagram A post shared by RAVIOLA (@anotherboytj) The post prompted other users to share their experiences with Ratchapat. A user claimed that he refused to wear condoms as "it's a waste of plastic". Another user sent a screenshot of her conversation with Ratchapat and recounted a story in which he allegedly messaged her, asking for her age. After finding out that she was 16 years old at the time, he allegedly replied: "You're so young. I'll end up in jail." However, the user claimed that Ratchapat proceeded to tell her to meet up with him if she was ever in Bangkok. One account claimed that her friend "had been talking" to Ratchapat since last year and uploaded screenshots of conversations between her friend and the actor. The account wrote: "[Ratchapat] said that my friend was the only one. He also liked having her come over, and when she went to see him, he would order a Grab ride for her and transfer her the fare. And most of the time, he didn't use protection." In response to the allegations, YWPB said that the agency and Ratchapat have mutually agreed to terminate his contract "to allow him the time and space needed to address the situation appropriately". The agency added that it would "inform the public accordingly" in the event of any further developments.
