SINGAPORE - A pre-school in Bedok is being investigated by the police after a mother alleged that her child had been abused by a teacher in the school, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said on Monday (Nov 4).

The mother, Ms Mickie Sae, posted on Facebook last Wednesday that her three-year-old son was abused by his teacher for about one month at Sunflower Preschool in Bedok.

She said that her son, who enrolled in the pre-school in early June, would often come home from school with new marks on his body, including nail marks on his ears as well as a bruise on his neck which resembled rope burn.

She took her son to see a doctor, who said that the mark on his neck was caused by abrasions.

She approached the pre-school's principal and asked to see closed-circuit television footage of the incident. The school denied her request and she made a police report.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for ECDA said on Monday that it takes a serious view of child mismanagement.

"In August 2019, ECDA was alerted by the police to this incident. The case is undergoing police investigations."

"ECDA is working closely with the pre-school to ensure close supervision of children and provide guidance and support to the teachers in classroom management."

"We note that following the incident, the pre-school reminded all their staff to abide by established procedures on child guidance and behaviour management, and tightened up on monitoring," she said.

Pre-schools are required to report incidents that have an impact on the safety of staff and children to ECDA.

ECDA said it follows up on allegations of child mismanagement incidents through visits to the pre-schools, interviews and verification of records.

The agency also reminds pre-school operators to ensure vigilant supervision of children, and to provide guidance and support to teachers on classroom management.