SINGAPORE - An infant care teacher at a preschool force-fed a one-year-old girl milk from a bottle until she struggled and vomited.

Upset with her cries, the woman, who is no longer working there, continued ill-treating the victim and hit her in the back.

Without revealing details, Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang said the offender also abused an eight month-old boy and a 10-month old girl.

On July 8, the 37-year-old woman, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the children, was sentenced to a year and two months’ jail.

She had pleaded guilty to one count of ill-treating the one-year-old girl.

Two other similar charges involving the other victims were considered during sentencing.

All three charges are under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA).

The woman started working at the preschool in 2022, and details about it have been redacted from court documents.

She had to care for about 10 children, between two and 18 months’ old. Her duties included changing their diapers and feeding them.

The one-year-old victim was enrolled at the preschool in February 2024.

Abused in nap room

Shortly before noon on Sept 23, that year, the woman took the girl and three other children to a nap room to drink milk and sleep.

The children were placed on a mattress on the floor, and she handed them a milk bottle each.

Minutes later, the victim stopped drinking and did not finish her milk. The woman placed the bottle back into the child’s mouth, but she turned her head away.

The woman tried but failed to feed the child, who struggled and kicked her legs around.

At around 12.05pm, she used her left hand to hold the victim’s head, whil...