Jail for preschool teacher who deliberately tripped toddler four times

SINGAPORE: A former preschool teacher who repeatedly tripped a toddler at a childcare centre was sentenced to nine months and two weeks’ jail on Monday (Jul 28). 

Saiidah Kamarudin, 34, earlier pleaded guilty to one of two counts of ill-treating the girl, who suffered bruises to her face and bled from her nose. The other charge was taken into consideration for her sentencing. 

The victim and the childcare centre cannot be named to protect the girl’s identity.

Saiidah began working for the childcare centre in end-September 2023, but she submitted her resignation the following month. Her employment lasted until mid-November.

On the day of the incident in November, Saiidah had taken the 20-month-old girl to the toilet slightly after noon to clean her up. As the girl stood before her, Saiidah, who was seated, swept her leg outwards to catch the toddler’s foot, causing the girl to stumble.

After this, Saiidah swept her leg inwards, causing the toddler to fall backwards onto the floor. The teacher then lifted the girl to her feet and cleaned her face with a tissue. 

As the two were headed out of the toilet area, Saiidah repeated the sweeping motion twice. The latter incident caught the toddler on both legs and caused her to fall on her face.

Saiidah’s actions were captured by a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV). The footage was played in court. 

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

The prosecution urged the court to sentence Saiidah to a jail term of between 15 and 16 months. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie said the case represented a “disturbing breach of trust by a childcare professional who deliberately and repeatedly tripped a 20-month-old toddler in her care”. 

“Such calculated violence against a defenceless toddler who was entrusted to the care of the accused strikes at the heart of public confidence in Singapore’s early childhood sector,” said Mr Cheah.

The prosecution pointed out that the victim had bled from her nose and suffered bruises and swelling on her face. He also described the offence as “deliberate and calculated” in nature.

“The accused had committed the offences in the private toilet area of the school premises, which was separated by a wall from the rest of the school, making detection particularly difficult. The victim, being unable to speak, could not inform anyone of the offences,” Mr Cheah told the court. 

Saiidah’s lawyer, Deepak Natverlal from Crown Juris Law, argued that a jail term was not warranted.

He sought the maximum fine of S$8,000 (US$6,250), and for the court to order that she execute a bond of good behaviour for a period.

Alternatively, Mr Natverlal argued for a jail term of no more than three months, and a fine of S$5,000.

He said that Saiidah, a mother of two, started working at the childcare centre with a view to enrolling her children there. However, she found the curriculum unsuitable and tendered her resignation. 

Mr Natverlal laid out the circumstances behind Saiidah’s resignation, saying these “showed that the accused felt that there were matters in the school that were not child-centric”. 

He said Saiidah had attempted to highlight these matters to the management to ensure that the children’s interests and welfare were not compromised. Instead, she felt “quietly aggrieved” when her words went unheeded. 

“The accused felt unwelcome at this place. The present staff had their own cliques. The accused felt like an outcast from the beginning … she felt the staff did not take her seriously and made her feel that she was not good enough to do the lesson plans for the children, which, on the contrary, she was capable of doing as she had worked … before as a pre-school teacher,” said Mr Natverlal. 

The lawyer also cited a defective water heater, poor quality meals for the children, poor hygiene practices and extensive TV exposure as a few other problems she experienced while working at the childcare centre. 

His client also felt that there was a lack of welfare for teachers like her, who had two young children. 

Despite these challenges, Saiidah still “endeavoured to do her best” as a teacher, the defence lawyer said. 

“As a mother of two very young children, the accused feels aggrieved that her actions had led to the child being injured in the manner that she suffered. 

“The accused acknowledges that she could have behaved better and that it was a solitary incident wherein she had lost her sense of judgment,” Mr Natverlal said, adding that Saiidah was remorseful. 

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, or both.