08/05/2013 10:30 | By TODAY, TODAY
Police investigate alleged abuse of 8-year-old boy
The police are investigating an alleged case of abuse at a special school after an eight-year-old boy returned home with bruises.
SINGAPORE : The police are investigating an alleged case of abuse at a special school after an eight-year-old boy returned home with bruises on Monday.
His 31-year-old mother, who called the MediaCorp News Hotline, said the boy’s grandmother had discovered bruises on the back, chest and side of his body when she was about to shower him after his return from Rainbow Centre, Yishun Park School.
The boy was taken to a family doctor, who referred him to KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital, where a blood test and X-ray were conducted.
The boy’s mother said she was told that her son had fallen down twice at school, but she was apparently told otherwise by doctors. She made a police report the following day.
She cannot be named as it may lead to the identification of the boy, who is protected as a minor under the Children and Young Person’s Act.
A police spokesperson confirmed that a report has been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.
In response to TODAY’s queries, the school said it is “assisting the police with the investigations”. “The safety and well-being of our students is the school’s top priority,” it added.
The Ministry of Education on Friday said it takes a “serious view of the matter” and will work with the school to assist the police.
The boy’s mother, a single parent who works as a sales executive, said she has been going to the school every day to speak to the teachers and principal to try and “make sense” of what happened to her son, who has no vocal capabilities.
The boy has been staying at home since the incident.
The incident comes after another alleged abuse case at a My First Skool branch in Toa Payoh, where CCTV footage showed a teacher forcefully dragging a three-year-old boy across the floor, which caused a fracture to his shin.
