SINGAPORE – A former cook with a pre-school in Singapore was on Nov 10 sentenced to nine years, four months and seven weeks’ jail, in what the prosecution described as one of the most horrendous sexual abuse cases in such a local facility.

Malaysian Teo Guan Huat, 61, had

pleaded guilty to three molestation charges on Oct 27.

Five other molestation charges were considered during his sentencing.

On Nov 10, District Judge Vince Gui said that Teo’s acts were abhorrent, and that the offences represented an abuse of trust, stressing that the victims were young and defenceless.

The Singapore permanent resident had molested three girls, aged one to two, while the victims were in a nap room at the pre-school.

He abused the children by inserting his hands into their nappies, an act he carried out multiple times a week, from May 2023 to November that year, when the teachers were not looking.

Teo, who was with the pre-school for about a year, eventually resigned in November 2023 when was exposed.

The court heard that although he was employed as a cook at the pre-school, Teo would often escort the children for their shower. He would also set up their bedding and pat them to sleep.

These were not duties he was hired for, the prosecution told the court in earlier proceedings, adding this case involved one of the most horrendous acts of sexual abuse committed in a pre-school in Singapore.

In admitting to his offences, Teo said he has erectile dysfunction and has never been in a relationship.

He said he committed the offences because he “wanted to see and wanted to touch”.

Teo admitted that he had targeted children because they were not able to speak up.

An Institute of Mental Health report showed that Teo was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Quek Lu Yi said the disorder had no direct contributory link to his offences, adding that it did not impair his judgment or impulse control at the time.

The offences came to light on Nov 16, 2023 when a school employee saw security camera footage that showed Teo molesting one of the victims.

Members of the school management committee confronted him, and he was asked to leave on Nov 23, 2023.

A police report was made on Dec 2 that year. It was not stated in court who made the police report and why there was a delay.

DPP Quek said that from the time Teo’s acts were exposed in November to when the police were notified, the CCTV system was reformatted which erased earlier footage.

It was not stated in court documents who erased the footage. Teo was arrested on Dec 4, 2023 after police investigators restored the footage,

He was

charged in court two days later

.

Offenders convicted of molesting a child below 14 years old can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.

Teo cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.

Four women were charged in February over

their alleged roles in covering up the incident

.

The women, aged between 48 and 66, cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the victims.

They were each handed one charge of intentionally omitting information on the sexual assault.

In July, the 66-year-old woman was given a stern warning and

granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal

. This means she cannot be charged again with the same offence.

The pre-school was hit with $26,200 in financial penalties in May 2024 by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)

, and restricted from enrolling new pupils

.

ECDA has also taken action against four management staff, including banning three of them from working in the pre-school sector.

In a statement on Oct 29, ECDA said its investigations into the safety procedures of the school found multiple breaches which compromised children’s safety.

It restricted all new enrolments at the pre-school and shortened the licence tenure from three years to six months.

ECDA had directed the pre-school to submit a corrective action plan to ensure children’s safety, which the school submitted in June 2024.

On Nov 6, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said in Parliament that

ECDA will be using artificial intelligence (AI)

to improve the way CCTV footage is reviewed during investigations into suspected misconduct at pre-schools.

Mr Masagos added that ECDA was working with video analytics providers to develop AI solutions that can detect safety hazards and potential misconduct in pre-schools.

CCTV cameras were made mandatory in all pre-schools and government-funded early intervention centres from July 2024.