Infant care teacher hit 1-year-old boy more than 20 times and covered his head with pillow, then tried to hide her tracks

She hit a one-year-old toddler on the back multiple times with her hands while the boy was under her care. Not only that, the infant care teacher also covered the boy's head with a pillow, slammed him to the ground and slapped his face as he cried.

The incident occurred on Dec 24, 2019, with CCTV cameras capturing the teacher's actions.

In court on Friday (Feb 18), the woman pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating a child, with a second charge of abusing the child earlier in the month being considered, Channel NewsAsia reported.

The woman cannot be named so as to protect the identity of the victim. The location of the preschool was also withheld due to a court-imposed gag order.

According to court proceedings, the victim was abused between 12.30pm and 1pm on Christmas Eve, where the teacher hit the boy's back with one hand at least 14 times, and with both her hands at least eight times. She also adjusted his legs roughly at least twice.

The teacher was found to have covered the boy's head with a pillow, and forcefully pushed his head down onto a cushion.

In addition, she shook the boy roughly by his arms before slamming him to the ground and also slapped his cheek at least seven times in a row.

All this occurred as the boy was crying in pain, said the prosecutor, but she ignored him.

The court heard that after finding a bruise forming on the child's back, the teacher attempted to cover her tracks by calling the victim's mother and asking if the child had "very sensitive skin".

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She claimed that she had patted him to sleep but apologised that her actions were "a bit hard"; she also alleged that the boy's skin was having an "outbreak".

The mother subsequently took the child to KK Women's and Children's Hospital after discovering the 13cm by 8cm bruise, which was diagnosed to be an "alleged non-accidental injury".

The pre-school paid for the $139.10 bill.

The mother lodged a police report on Dec 31, 2019 after viewing CCTV footage of the incident.

The lawyer for the offender, who is no longer working at the preschool, said there was "no good explanation" for what she did, but hopes that "the victim and his family can forgive her".

She will be sentenced on March 17 for the offence under the Children and Young Persons Act. If found guilty, she may face jail time of up to four years and a fine of up to $4,000.

candicecai@asiaone.com