Footage of alleged abuse viewed by Kinderland disciplinary panel more than a week after ex-principal saw it
A teacher seen allegedly rough-handling children in the videos was undergoing a disciplinary inquiry that led to her dismissal.
File photo of Kinderland Preschool at Woodlands Mart. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
SINGAPORE: From the time a principal first watched video footage of alleged abuse taking place at a preschool, more than a week went by before the same footage was viewed by a disciplinary inquiry panel set up to investigate the conduct of the teacher filmed allegedly rough-handling children.
This detail emerged in a press release by preschool chain Kinderland late on Wednesday (Sep 6) night, following a meeting with parents over recent events that have already resulted in the teacher, Lin Min, being arrested and charged with ill-treating a child.
Kinderland held a fourth dialogue session with parents at Kinderland Preschool @ Woodlands Mart on Wednesday, during which the company provided a timeline of events.
TIMELINE ACCORDING TO KINDERLAND
On Aug 11, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the government agency that oversees the sector, visited Kinderland Woodlands Mart to conduct classroom observations. ECDA also informed the school's then-principal, Ms Mahirah Yasid, of an anonymous report of mismanagement of children.
This was slightly more than a week after another teacher, the one who had filmed the videos showing the alleged abuse, resigned from the school.
On Aug 17, Ms Mahirah and two other teachers were interviewed by ECDA. The former principal then watched the video footage taken by the teacher who had resigned in July.
According to Kinderland, an unnamed senior manager from the chain accompanied Ms Mahirah and also viewed "snippets" of the footage. This senior manager and Ms Mahirah informed Kinderland's headquarters, and a disciplinary inquiry was set up to look into Lin's conduct.
ECDA told CNA on Thursday that the senior manager was representing Kinderland's headquarters. The agency also confirmed Kinderland's timeline as accurate.
Five days later, on Aug 22, Lin received a warning letter from Kinderland during the first phase of the disciplinary inquiry. She was then "closely supervised" by Ms Mahirah and "co-partnered with another educator".
On Aug 28, the day the footage emerged online, Kinderland's general manager Seet Lee Kiang and the disciplinary inquiry panel watched it for the first time.
On the same day, the second phase of the disciplinary inquiry was completed, and Lin was sacked. She was also arrested that day.
On Aug 30, Kinderland relieved Ms Mahirah of her duties as principal and redeployed her. Lin was charged on the same day.
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MORE WALKABOUTS BY NEW PRINCIPAL
Kinderland also gave details of the new principal and the actions she would be carrying out at the Woodlands preschool.
The replacement principal, Ms Surinder Kaur - who was at Wednesday night's meeting with parents - has 20 years of experience in the early childhood sector, 10 of those years with Kinderland, said the preschool chain.
"Ms Kaur also shared that she will increase the frequency of Principal walkabouts at the centre as they enable her to have more interactions with the teachers and the children to ensure their well-being," said Kinderland.
Ms Kaur was first introduced to parents at a meeting on Sep 2. A parent told CNA then that she felt more assured after learning that a new principal would be put in place. She described Ms Kaur as "quite outspoken".
Kinderland on Wednesday reiterated its policy on banning staff from using personal devices at work, which it said would protect the privacy of children and teachers. But it left open the option of teachers using personal devices for whistleblowing purposes.
"In cases where teachers wish to report inappropriate behaviour including emergencies, Kinderland encourages its staff to capture images or footage using any devices and report such situations swiftly," said the preschool chain.
The school earlier noted that the policy was first introduced in 2019.
Kinderland added that staff must use company-issued mobile devices to update parents on their child’s progress, including photos and videos in the separate app.
Some parents have also requested for the school to continue its updates on “further efforts to provide a safe environment for the children”, said Kinderland.
OTHER CASES
More cases have surfaced since the emergence of the original Woodlands video. ECDA said another Woodlands teacher - who has been issued a warning - was found to have restrained a 3-year-old boy on two occasions.
Separately, a teacher at another Kinderland branch - Sunshine Place in Choa Chu Kang - was arrested on Aug 29. In a video that surfaced on social media, the 48-year-old woman was seen forcefully handing a water bottle to a boy before smacking him on the head several times and pushing him away.
Editor's note: This article has been updated after Kinderland on Thursday issued a revised press release with amendments to the timeline of events.
