In less than a week, two childcare centres — one in Teck Whye Lane, one in River Valley — have become the centre of an uproar on social media when allegations emerged about the ill-treatment of children left in their care. Here’s the breakdown in point form.

Case #1: Sparkletots Childcare at Teck Whye Lane

• Mother of 18-month-old toddler found bruises on her son’s forehead, back and legs. Apparently, the child returned home from school with a new bruise each day.
• Teachers and principals of the school made no remark about the bruises, informing the mother about how the child is “good and active”.
• Son starts losing weight. Initially, teachers told his mother not to worry, but they later told her that the child would only have a spoonful or two of food before running off to play. Teachers also complained that they had too many children to take care of and couldn’t focus heavily on each child.
• Mum grew suspicious. Deciding to see what was happening for herself, she claimed to have spotted her son being held by his ankles by a teacher. The child was said to be struggling while being pressed down by the teacher’s elbow on his back.
• Teacher noticed mum outside. Immediately let go of child.
• Horrified mum went to confront principal and review the incident on CCTV. Principal apologised and promised to take action against allegedly savage teacher. Same teacher said to have apologised to the mother.
• Apparently, nothing changed. Mum claimed to have found another bruise on her son’s stomach the next day.
• Mum withdrew son from childcare centre. She put up a post on Childcare in Singapore Facebook group, where it went viral.
• PAP Community Foundation (PCF) — who manages Sparkletots preschools — reported matters to relevant authorities. Investigations ongoing.
• “Whilst we support our staff in their challenging jobs as educators, we also emphasise that we do not condone any breach of professional standards and will take the necessary actions if required,” said a PCF spokesperson.

Case #2: (Allegedly) Sam’s Early Learning Centre off Jalan Mutiara

• Photos alleging ill-treatment of children at the centre went viral on WeChat. You can see all the images here.
• The post by a user called Singapore Tong showed children sleeping on the cold hard floor, playing without adult supervision and being fed rotten fruit.

• One gruesome highlight was a child sleeping in a cot that was said to be smeared with shit. Caption on photo stated that the child ate the faeces.
• Sam’s Learning Centre denied everything when approached by The Straits Times, asserting that some of the images were taken last year.
• The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) is now conducting investigations into the matter.