THE injured girl's parents aren't seeking an apology or compensation.

Mr Pannirselvam and his wife, Sara, 32, an IT helpdesk analyst, do not blame Maya for the incident.

But they described the preschool's handling of the incident as 'deeply disappointing' and want other schools to take better care of children.

'They are clearly unprepared to handle such a critical situation,' said Mr Pannirselvam of the preschool.

The principal had explained to Mrs Pannirselvam that the paper cutter was lying on top of the teacher's cupboard and that Maya had reached up to take it.

Mrs N, an Indian national who has lived in Singapore with her family for a year, said her maid, who went to pick Maya up from school that day was not told about the incident.

'Maya was crying, but the teachers were running here and there, so my maid thought they were just busy,' she said.

She got a call from the school the same day. But it was only the next day, when Mr and Mrs N and Maya visited the preschool to speak to the principal and the teacher, that the parents learnt the full story.

Mrs N claimed that Maya had never seen a paper cutter before as they do not have one at home.

'We have never even allowed her to touch a knife or a pair of scissors at home,' she said.

'Playing'

Moreover, when Mrs N asked Maya why she did it, Maya could only reply that she was 'playing'.

'We feel bad for both kids,' said Mrs N, in response to a query on her thoughts about the incident.

'Maya has been mentally stressed, and we are also affected.

'No parents would expect their daughter to do this sort of thing.'

They had considered withdrawing Maya from pre-school so that she could have a break but did not do so as the principal had advised them that it was 'not the right thing to do'.

Maya and her parents have since gone to visit Keertika, and apologised for what happened.

Representatives from the pre-school, including the principal and the teacher, have also visited the Pannirselvams more than once since the incident to show their concern and offer apologies.

The Pannirselvams chose to speak up because they feared their silence may lead to 'another innocent child' being similarly affected in future.

'We want schools to take more responsibility and make sure schools are safe for our children. We want to go to work with the peace of mind knowing that our children are safe and well-taken care of,' they said in an e-mail to The New Paper.

'We want to share our experience to ensure that such incidents do not happen again to any other children. We really want the schools and teachers to be more vigilant and step up safety measures in schools.'