When her six-year-old son Joel (not his real name) started refusing to attend kindergarten and claimed that his teacher had hit him with a pen, Madam Lee, 37, thought he was just being rebellious and spoilt.
But one night last month, Joel became very insistent on not going to school the next day and Madam Lee, a business development manager, sensed that something was wrong.
She started probing into Joel’s claims and found out that Joel’s teacher at Zoo-phonics School in Bukit Timah, a private enrichment centre, would hit his hand with a pen to discipline him.
He also claimed she would push and shake him violently whenever he did not know the answer to a question or made a mistake in his work.
Madam Lee found out that another child had been treated the same way by the teacher.
Both mothers went to see the teacher and principal on Oct 5 and lodged a police report later that night. They pulled their children out of the school the next day.
Police confirmed that the reports were made and investigations are ongoing.
When TNP contacted the director of Zoo-phonics School Asia, Mr Vincent Teoh, he said the teacher had resigned on Thursday.
Source: www.tnp.sg
