Indian-origin former preschool teacher in Singapore sentenced to 4 days’ jail for ill-treating girl

An Indian-origin former preschool teacher has been sentenced to four-day jail term after she pleaded guilty to ill-treating a four-year-old girl under her care, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Alamelu Paramaguru, 57, forcefully kicked and bruised the shin of the girl because she felt that the girl, who was sitting on the floor, had nearly tripped her. She also scolded the little girl who hugged her injured leg in pain, The Straits Times reported.

Alamelu was charged after investigators viewed CCTV footage of the incident that took place in April 2024, the paper said.

The girl’s mother made a police report after seeing the bruise on her daughter’s leg. The mother lodged a police report that evening and took the little girl to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Announcing the verdict, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan said that Alamelu did not come clean at first, and that she was not a random stranger to the victim. He also noted that the former preschool teacher had scolded the child, who was in pain, after kicking her.

However, the judge noted that he was aware Alamelu was “not having an easy time” before she committed the offence and was then in a “high-stress environment”, handling a class of around 15 children.