A private nursery in Hanoi has been temporarily suspended after kindergarten staff member was accused of slapping a little boy several times.
A resident in Tu Hiep new urban area, Tu Hiep Commune, in Thanh Tri District recorded a video showing the staff member at the Tuoi Hoa private nursery slapping a three year-old child multiple times during meal time on June 15.
In the clip, the boy appeared to be well-behaved. After finishing a bowl of rice, the food fell onto his trousers. The staff member then cleaned up the mess while pulling the chair into a hidden corner and slapped him several times. It was shown that she also pinched his ears and thighs.
According to the boy's family, he started going to nursery three months ago and recently began to show fear of going to class. He also often woke at night. The family also found small bruises but only thought that it was because he was too playful. When going to the nursery, the boy often sat quietly in a corner. His family took the child to doctors featuring he was showing signs of autism but it was ruled out.
The boy was slapped multiple times
The nursery staff member at first denied the accusation but admitted to Dan Tri reporters after being shown the clip. She said, "Normally, only I and another staff member can make him eat. On that day, he vomited on to me so I was upset... I called to apologise to the boy's family and will visit them for a proper apology. Thinking back now I don't know why I was so angry at that time." However, she denied pinching the boy.
Tuoi Hoa Nursery opened three months ago inside the apartment building of Tu Hiep urban area and received 20 children. During summer holiday, there are only about four caretakers and 14 children.
The boy's father said his son had returned to normal and they didn't file complaints against the accused woman. He said, "The staff member’s husband and the landlord of Tuoi Hoa Nursery visited and apologised to us. We knew him from before. He's a decent man so we agreed that punishment should be a deterrent, not to push his wife into a corner."
Truong Duc Long, chairman of Tu Hiep Commune said that they found out Tuoi Hoa Nursery was unlicensed and suspended its operation on June 17. They transferred the case to the police of Tu Hiep Commune. Meanwhile the police and local authorities haven't found or be able to make contact with the accused. It is said that she returned to her hometown for family business.
Nguyen Thanh Ha, head of the police force in Tu Hiep Commune said administrative fines and punishments were decided on the severe of injuries and family's request. "If the family doesn't press for this then it's possible that only an administrative fine will be applied," he said.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Le, head of Thanh Tri District Department of Education and Training thought that a fine of VND3m-5m was too lenient and they need stricter punishments to act as a better deterrent.
The chairman of Tu Hiep Commune said they lacked nurseries as there was no private nursery nearby and only one public nursery but it was already packed with 200 children.
