Former Mandarin Teacher Jailed for Abusing Preschool Children

Former Mandarin Teacher Jailed for Abusing Preschool Children

A former Mandarin teacher from a Kinderland preschool in Singapore was sentenced to 17 months and two weeks in jail on Thursday (March 13) for abusing four children. Lin Min, 35, pleaded guilty to three counts of ill-treating a child, with three similar charges taken into consideration. The children involved were between one and three years old.

District Judge John Ng rejected the defense's argument that Lin's actions were motivated by concern for the children's welfare and were the result of overzealousness. He stated that Lin's actions displayed a clear disregard for the negative impact of her behavior, particularly her attempts to force the children to drink water. However, he acknowledged that Lin did not act with malicious intent.

The judge noted that while the physical harm caused to the children was low, the psychological trauma they suffered, along with the impact on their parents and other children who witnessed the incidents, was significant. He also considered Lin's guilty plea, lack of criminal history, and two weeks spent in the Institute of Mental Health in 2023 when determining the sentence.

After the sentencing, Lin requested through her lawyer to defer the start of her jail term by a week to make arrangements for her child. Lin's case gained public attention in 2023 after videos of the incidents circulated online. Several other incidents involving teachers from the same preschool chain subsequently emerged. Lin was subsequently fired and barred from working in the preschool sector.

Court documents revealed that Lin forced one victim, a nearly two-year-old girl, to lie down and poured water into her mouth on June 30, 2023. The girl could be heard coughing and choking on the water. Following the incident, she would wake up crying and saying "no" and "bye bye lao shi (teacher)".

In another incident in June 2023, Lin manhandled a two-year-old boy to lie on the floor in an attempt to force him to drink water. A few days later, she grabbed his forehead and held his head backwards to force-feed him water. This boy would have nightmares, saying "no, no, no I don't want".

The prosecution argued that Lin's actions displayed an "obvious element of cruelty," while Lin's defense maintained that she was not acting out of malice or cruelty but was concerned about the children's dehydration. For ill-treating a child, Lin could have faced up to eight years in jail and/or a fine of up to S$8,000 (US$6,000).