SINGAPORE, Jan 19 — Two senior staff at a Singapore preschool were sentenced to jail today for covering up the sexual abuse of three toddlers by a school cook over seven months in 2023.

The 59-year-old former executive director received four months in jail, while the 49-year-old former vice-principal was sentenced to three months and two weeks, Singapore-based news outlet CNA reported.

District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said that educators have a duty to protect children in school, and are legally bound “act swiftly and decisively by reporting any suspicion or sign of child abuse, sexual or otherwise”, but had betrayed that trust by deliberately destroying evidence of the sexual assaults that were captured on CCTV footage.

“When those in leadership positions choose concealment over disclosure in the face of sexual abuse of children, it sends a deeply troubling signal – that perceived personal or institutional interests are prioritised over child protection.

“That inversion of priorities strikes at the very heart of the protective role that society expects of educational institutions and educators, and public interest demands that it markedly heighten culpability,” the judge was quoted as saying.

The offences came to light after the vice-principal accidentally discovered the cook’s misconduct on video in November 2023, while the executive director and principal were overseas.

Instead of reporting it immediately, the two women conspired to delete incriminating footage and pressured the principal to go along with the plan.

The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, had already been sentenced to more than nine years for the sexual assault of the three children – then aged between one and two.

The principal, 62, has pled guilty to related charges and will be sentenced later. 

Except for the cook, none of the other accused can be named due to a court-issued gag order that also bars naming the preschool.

Authorities also took action against the preschool itself, including fines, restrictions on enrolments, and bans on several management staff from working in the sector.