Former preschool teacher convicted of ill-treating 2-year-old girl

SINGAPORE: A former preschool teacher was convicted on Wednesday (Oct 22) of one charge of ill-treating a two-year-old girl in 2022.

Wu Jiaying, a 32-year-old China national, was found guilty of forcefully placing the girl down onto the floor and a chair, lifting her by her arm and pulling her across the classroom, as well as shaking her violently.

The woman had contested the charge, saying she had intended only to control the situation and get the child to calm down.

She also argued that she suffered from major depressive disorder, was stressed by her heavy workload and was not trained to handle a child who may have special needs or was experiencing slower development.

Wu also argued that the school - which cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim's identity - did not take her feedback about the child's suspected condition seriously.

The court rejected her submissions and found that the prosecution had proven the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu said it was undisputed that Wu was one of two teachers assigned to teach the class at the time.

The prosecution said Wu had consciously and intentionally carried out the acts in the charge, causing unnecessary physical pain to the child.

At trial, Wu initially appeared to disagree that the child was under her care, saying she was instead under the school's custody.

She also gave a purpose for each of the acts she did, saying she placed the child on a chair to calm her down so she could join the other children.

She also said she pulled the child across the classroom to calm her down and bring her to a safe place, and that she shook the child to move her away from a cabinet or box behind her, and to get the child to listen to her and quieten down.

Judge Ong said the psychiatric report tendered by Wu was "bereft" of supporting evidence and reasoning as to how he arrived at his conclusions. These include that Wu's alleged condition had a causal link to the offence.

Judge Ong said Wu attempted to downplay the intensity of her actions, particularly the force she had used on the child.

This was by describing her actions as "inappropriate", that her actions appeared to be exaggerated, and that she was "not gentle enough".

Wu also pointed to the lack of medical evidence linking her acts to any injury and the lack of direct testimony from the child in arguing that her acts did not cause any pain or harm to the child.

Judge Ong said there does not need to be any such evidence before the court can make a finding that her acts had caused pain to the child.

"Based on my observations from the CCTV footage of the force used and the manner in which Ms Wu had done the acts set out in the charge, I have no difficulty in finding that her acts had caused physical pain to the child," said the judge.

As a final note, Judge Ong reminded Wu that if she were to use generative artificial intelligence again, she would have to abide by a guide issued by the courts for court users who use such tools.

This was because Wu had cited cases previously which were either non-existent or provided citations that did not match the case she was citing.

Sentencing and mitigation were adjourned to a later date.

For ill-treating a child, Wu can be jailed for up to eight years, fined up to S$8,000 (US$6,100), or both.