A 61-year-old permanent resident originally from Malaysia, Teo Guan Huat, has admitted guilt in court to three charges of molesting young children at a preschool in Singapore. He faces a further five charges which will be taken into account during sentencing.
According to the court’s record, Teo was employed at the preschool for around one year in 2023. Although his official role was as the cook, he also assisted with child-care tasks such as helping children during nap time or bath time.
Between May and November 2023, he is alleged to have repeatedly exploited his access to three approximately two-year-old girls with whom he was closer, carrying out molestation acts while they were being settled for nap or were asleep. He reportedly committed these acts two to three times a week during that period.
On 16 November 2023, a staff member reviewing CCTV footage observed Teo inserting his hand into a toddler’s diaper and performing at least nine separate molestation acts within about an hour.
Following the revelation, Teo resigned from his post on 23 November after being questioned by the preschool’s management. The employer only alerted the police after some delay, during which CCTV footage was deleted and the system was reformatted by other staff, who were later charged. The police retrieved the deleted recordings and arrested Teo on 4 December.
The prosecution described the case as “one of the most horrifying sexual abuse incidents ever in a preschool setting”, emphasising that parents entrust their children to such institutions and expect them to be safe. They are seeking a 10-year prison sentence.
Teo’s defence lawyer argued that although Teo deeply regrets his actions, the preschool allowed him to be in such a position of trust with children. They requested a six-year prison term and no caning. Due to Teo’s age (over 50), he is not eligible for caning under Singapore’s current legislation.
The judge has reserved the sentencing decision to allow time for full consideration. A gag order is in place to protect the identities of the toddler victims and prohibits publication of any identifying preschool details.
