Overview

• On Aug 19, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan sentenced Alamelu Paramaguru, 57, after her July guilty plea to ill‑treating a child under the Children and Young Persons Act.
• CCTV footage showed her forcefully kicking the girl's right shin on Apr 2, 2024, after she felt the child had nearly tripped her, and she initially told investigators she could not remember the incident.
• The girl told her mother about the kick at pickup; the mother saw a 1cm bruise, filed a police report that night, and the child was treated at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and given two days’ medical leave.
• Prosecutors sought five to seven days’ jail, the defence asked for a fine or a very short term while citing her visual impairment and 30‑year career, and the judge opted for four days to reflect both the breach of trust and the limited harm.
• ECDA said the educator was suspended, later resigned, has not worked in the sector since, and is barred from the preschool sector, with the school and victim not named to protect the child’s identity.