S’pore police investigating after school bus driver allegedly slaps boy, mum frustrated she can’t view CCTV footage
Police are investigating after an eight-year-old boy was allegedly slapped across the face by his school bus driver.
The boy’s mother is also frustrated that she has not been allowed to view CCTV footage of the incident despite repeatedly asking the bus company for access.
The incident allegedly happened on Aug 24 as the Primary 3 pupil was taking a school bus home.
Stomper Chiong said her son told her about what happened only after he returned home that night.
According to the Stomper, her son had boarded the bus and tried to place his water bottle in a drink holder attached to the seat in front of him.
When he found that the bottle was too large, he placed it in a netted pocket instead and flipped the drink holder back up.
Chiong alleged that this appeared to anger the bus driver, who said something to her son in Mandarin before slapping him across his left cheek.
She said her son did not fully understand what the driver had said as his Chinese was not good.
“My boy demonstrated the strength of the slap on my hand,” Chiong told Stomp.
“It was not very, very hard, but it was hard enough — the kind that will maybe leave a red mark that will disappear after a while.”
As her son had gone to his grandmother’s home after school and told his mother about the incident only that night, she said there was no visible mark on his face by then.
The Stomper also alleged that her children had previously told her the same driver would use Chinese vulgarities towards pupils on the bus.
She reported the alleged incident to the school, the bus company and police.
Chiong said the bus company has since changed the driver.
In response to a Stomp query, police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Mum wants to view CCTV footage
Chiong said she has repeatedly asked the bus company to let her view CCTV footage of the alleged incident so she can understand exactly what happened to her son.
“I just want to see where my child got hit — did the driver hit his ear, eye, etc, how hard was the slap, did my child behave in a bad way, etc,” she said.
According to Chiong, the company declined her request, citing reasons including the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), company policy and protocol.
She said she suggested that other children appearing in the footage could be blurred, cropped or masked, and offered to merely view the footage without obtaining a copy.
“I promised I will not post it on social media,” she said.
However, she said her request was still rejected.
She is now questioning what options parents have to view such footage when their child is involved in an alleged incident.
“As the parent of a victimised child, I’m sure other parents who have similar experiences, whether at childcare centres or on other school buses, would want to know the same question,” she said.
“What can parents do?”
Driver relieved of school-related trip duties, assisting with investigations
When approached by Stomp, the bus company, Tong Tar Transport Service, said it is “unable to comment further at this time” as police investigations are ongoing.
The spokesperson shared that the driver is currently relieved of his duties in all school-related trips and is assisting with investigations.
“We will cooperate fully with the authorities and remain committed to the safety and well-being of our student passengers,” the spokesperson added.
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