Painful: Khoo showing how the kindergarten teacher hit his son’s head using a cane. With them is Bercham assemblyman Sum Cheok Leng.
A father is claiming that a kindergarten teacher hit his son on the head with a cane and wants action to be taken against her.
Businessman Khoo Kian Heng, 35, said the incident happened on June 18 when the teacher caught his five-year-old son playing with his friends in class.
“When I picked him up from school, he complained that his head was painful but I passed it off as a headache, thinking that it was due to the heat.
“It was only at night when the pain got worse that my son finally told me what had happened,” Khoo told reporters here yesterday.
Khoo said he met the headmistress at the kindergarten in Canning Garden here the following day, adding that she admitted that the teacher had hit his son on the head.
“I called again after a few days but the headmistress kept giving me excuses,” said Khoo, who later filed a complaint with the State Education Department before lodging a police report.
He said it was unacceptable for anyone to hit a child on the head.
“The same teacher has hit my son several times but it was on his hand, which does not matter.
“However, the head is a sensitive area and any physical trauma may affect his development,” he added.
Khoo claimed that on Monday, the teacher denied his son permission to go to the toilet after learning that he had complained against her.
“In the end, my son was forced to control his bladder until she left the class.
“He ran to the toilet but had already wet his pants,” said Khoo, who wants action taken against the teacher.
When contacted, the headmistress told The Star that the matter had been brought to the attention of the kindergarten’s board of governors and was awaiting its decision.
”I have tried to explain the matter to the parents but they do not accept my explanation,” she said.
