Was it a case of kids being kids, or something more malicious? A mother of a three-year-old boy has requested to withdraw her son from his pre-school after the latter returned home from school on four occasions with injuries on various parts of his body.
The woman, surnamed Wu told Shin Min Daily News that her son had enrolled in Hampton Pre-School located in Tiong Bahru at the start of the year.
His latest mishap was on March 29, when a teacher called Wu to inform her that the boy had a 3.5cm gash on his left arm.
"A school staff told me that he was pinched by a classmate, but it didn't look like a pinch wound to me. I brought my son to the doctor that day, and he agreed it didn't look like my son was pinched," the 42-year-old accountant told the Chinese daily.
Her son had also told her the same thing, but she still felt that something was amiss from the way he spoke.
According to her, the young boy has been traumatised from the incident.
"He's had repeated nightmares after that day, and he yelled 'Don't chase me!' on one occasion. His wound also hasn't healed after one week."
Wu also said that her son came home from pre-school with scratches between his eyebrows and bruises on his face on other occasions.
"These were inflicted by another classmate while they were playing with each other," she explained.
No CCTV in school
Following the incident in late March, Wu escalated the matter to the school's principal but was told the same story.
"There's no way to prove what actually happened, as there isn't a CCTV installed on the school's premises."
Wu also questioned why the staff did not stop the other student from injuring her son, and why she wasn't informed immediately after the incident.
"I tried asking if I could speak to the student's parents, but the school said I couldn't do so," lamented the frustrated mother.
Left with no choice, Wu said she has since reported the matter to the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA).
To protect her son, she has also applied to withdraw him from the pre-school.
Although the school has refunded Wu her deposit of $770, they still asked her to pay for his fees for the month of April — even though the boy has been absent since the incident.
Responding to Shin Min's queries, Hampton Pre-School said that two staff members were present when the boy had gotten injured — a teacher and a teaching assistant.
"The teacher inspected the boy's injuries and informed the boy's parents immediately," said the school.
They stated that they have also investigated the incident, and determined that the boy's injuries were caused by another student, adding that they are currently in touch with Wu to resolve the matter.
ECDA also told Shin Min that they are aware of the incident and are investigating the situation.
Student attacked by classmate with metal rod
In 2021, a secondary school student was left with a gaping wound in his head after he was allegedly brutally attacked by a schoolmate who was armed with a metal rod.
The victim had been dropped off at school by his elder sister at about 6.45am that morning, and was attacked by his schoolmate an hour later.
He was subsequently taken to the hospital.
Police told The Straits Times then that another student was arrested for voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon.