Preschool in molest case fined; three of its employees barred from working in sector: ECDA

SINGAPORE: The preschool that employed a man who went on to molest three toddlers on its premises was fined S$26,200 (US$20,230) by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).

The fine was meted out in May 2024 after ECDA's investigations uncovered multiple breaches of the Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC) Act and Regulations at the preschool that had compromised the safety of the children in its care, an agency spokesperson said on Wednesday (Oct 29) in response to queries from CNA.

ECDA had been informed of one of the man's offences against one of the children by the preschool on Dec 5, 2023, and later learned from the police and the preschool of further offences he committed against the two other children.

The agency later commenced investigations into the safety procedures and child-safe policies at the preschool and completed these in February 2024.

In addition to the fine, new enrolments were also restricted at the preschool, and its licence tenure was shortened from 36 months to six months, the spokesperson said.

These penalties were not made public at the time as the man's case was still before the courts, ECDA told CNA.

ECDA also took action against four members of the preschool's management, with three of them having been barred from working in the preschool sector since April 2024.

All four staff members have been removed from their posts by the preschool's operator, the spokesperson said.

"On Feb 21, 2025, these four staff members were charged by the police for intentionally omitting information on the incidents," the spokesperson added.

"One of them was granted a discharge amounting to acquittal by the courts on Jul 16, 2025, and subsequently given a stern warning. The remaining three staff members were also charged for their involvement in tampering (with) evidence."

The spokesperson said that ECDA was not able to provide further comments on their alleged offences as their court proceedings are ongoing.

Four teaching staff members at the preschool had also been reprimanded for failing to exercise vigilance in the supervision of the children in their care, the spokesperson said.

"One staff member was issued a stern reminder, and the other three were issued warnings," they added.

"Staff members issued with warnings are required to declare the warning, which will be taken into consideration when they seek re-employment in the preschool sector within two years."

On Monday, Teo Guan Huat, who had been employed as a cook by the preschool, pleaded guilty to three counts of molestation of minors. Another five charges will be considered in sentencing.

The 61-year-old Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident molested three girls during naptime while other teachers were present.

The name of the preschool cannot be published due to a gag order protecting the identities of the victims, who were between one and two years old at the time of the offences, which took place over seven months in 2023.

Teo worked for the preschool for about a year before he resigned from his position in late 2023 after his crimes were discovered.

Apart from his duties as a cook, Teo also escorted children at the preschool to a teacher for showers and helped take care of them at naptime. He would help lay out mattresses in the nap room and pat the children to sleep.

On Nov 16, 2023, an employee not named in court papers reviewed closed-circuit television footage for an unrelated matter and saw Teo inserting his hand under the diaper of a two-year-old girl.

Members of the school's management committee confronted him and asked him to leave. He resigned on Nov 23, 2023.

However, the matter was reported to the police only in early December 2023. In the meantime, the school's closed-circuit television system was reformatted, and this erased prior footage.

The police managed to recover the deleted footage, which captured a few of Teo's offences, and they arrested him on Dec 4, 2023.

Teo's case has been adjourned to a later date, with the judge in the case saying that he required some time to consider Teo's sentence.

For each count of molesting a minor, Teo could be jailed for up to five years and fined. He cannot be caned as he is above 50.

The ECDA spokesperson said regulatory lapses that compromise children’s safety and well-being in preschools are unacceptable.

"ECDA will take firm actions against preschool operators and staff who are found guilty of not fulfilling their duty of care to the children under their charge," the spokesperson said.

"All preschool operators are bound by the ECDC Act and Regulations to establish the necessary systems and processes, to ensure that children enrolled at their centre are safe and well.

"This includes obtaining ECDA's approval before deploying any non-teaching staff as programme helpers to assist in activities involving children, and ensuring that there is close supervision when programme helpers assist with routine tasks involving children in the preschool."

The spokesperson added that the ECDA will conduct checks to assess that individuals do not pose a risk to children's safety and have not been barred from working in the preschool sector before it approves their deployment.

This is to ensure that all preschool employees, including non-teaching staff members, are fit to work with young children.

"Preschools are also expected to have their own procedures to recruit persons who are suitable to work with or around young children," the spokesperson said.