Teacher Fined for Abusing 4-Year-Old Child by Tearing Textbook and Not Collecting Lunch Tray

Bullied for not keeping up with Jindo
Another daycare center abused a 2-year-old child over 380 times

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A daycare teacher who abused a 4-year-old child by tearing up study materials and refusing to collect the child's lunch tray because the child could not keep up with the curriculum was sentenced to a fine.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Uijeongbu District Court Namyangju Branch (Judge Jung Hyewon) on the 11th sentenced daycare teacher A (28, female), who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to a fine of 3 million won and ordered her to complete a 40-hour child abuse treatment program.

On July 6 last year, at a daycare center in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, A tore up the study materials of B, who was 4 years old at the time, and pushed him in front of other children because B could not keep up with the planned curriculum. Startled, B sat down on the classroom floor, but A ignored him and left him unattended for about 20 minutes. During lunchtime on the same day, while the lunch trays of other children who had finished eating were collected, A refused to take B's tray, forcing B to stand quietly beside A for 4 minutes.

In court, A claimed innocence, stating, "I did not collect B's tray because he left food uneaten," but the court did not accept this. Judge Jung rebutted A's claim, saying, "The CCTV footage shows no leftover food on B's tray, and another teacher who returned the trays on behalf of the defendant immediately collected B's tray." Judge Jung also explained the sentencing, stating, "As a daycare teacher, the defendant emotionally abused the victim, and B's guardian has petitioned for severe punishment. However, considering the frequency and severity of the abuse, it is not considered severe. The defendant's first abusive act appears to have had some disciplinary intent and seems to have been committed impulsively with partial awareness."

Abuse crimes in daycare centers continue to occur. On the 9th, the Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Unit of the Northern Gyeonggi Police Agency sent three people, including a daycare teacher, director, and cook at a daycare center in Mokdong-dong, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to the prosecution with an indictment opinion for habitual child abuse (violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes). The daycare teacher is accused of abusing a 2-year-old child about 380 times, the cook was charged with hitting children with a fly swatter, and the director was charged with neglecting supervision. The daycare teacher and others were investigated for physically and emotionally abusing children by dragging them by the hood of their hoodies, scolding children multiple times during nap time for not sleeping, pulling them out of classrooms without CCTV, and forcibly putting them to sleep by grabbing and pressing their necks. There were suspicions of abuse toward other children at this daycare center, but some parents reportedly did not actively intervene.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.