The former childcare teacher who allegedly broke the leg of a two-year-old boy was charged in a district court on Tuesday with ill-treating him.
The alleged offence of Siti Hadijah Mohamed Sin, 51, who had been a part-time teacher at a My First Skool branch in Toa Payoh, was caught on the centre's security camera last July. She is said to have grabbed him by his upper arms and heaved him backwards onto the floor twice. This allegedly caused a hairline fracture in his left shin.
She came to court with her husband and five other family members. Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhong Zewei informed the judge that investigations have been completed and the prosecution is ready to proceed. However defence counsel Satwant Singh said that he had just been briefed and needed time to make representations to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
The case will be mentioned again on Feb 18. If convicted, she could be fined up to $4,000 and jailed for up to four years. Siti Hadijah has since been sacked by the childcare centre, which is run by NTUC, and the boy's parents have pulled him from the centre.
