Man arrested for allegedly slapping 4-year-old boy outside Woodlands pre-school
Shermaine Ang and Rhea Yasmine
The Straits Times
March 9, 2026
A man who allegedly slapped a four-year-old boy at a bus stop outside a PCF Sparkletots pre-school in Woodlands on March 6 has been arrested.
In response to queries from The Straits Times on March 9, the police said a 36-year-old man had been arrested for voluntarily causing hurt against a young person after a police report was lodged. They did not say when the man was arrested.
In an Instagram post on March 6, the boy's mother Faezah Hamid said that the child was slapped twice outside his pre-school in Woodlands at around noon that day.
Madam Faezah, citing the family helper's account of the incident, said her son had shown one of his classmates the middle finger after he was caught during a game of "catching".
The suspect, who she said was the father of her son's classmate, then grabbed the boy by the collar and slapped his face.
When the helper intervened and tried to pull the boy away, the man allegedly held on to the boy and slapped his other cheek, which made the child cry.
"This happened in front of other parents, helpers and children outside the school," said Madam Faezah.
Police investigations are ongoing.
In response to queries from ST, PCF Sparkletots Preschool said it is aware of the March 6 incident, which happened after school dismissal.
"We are still gathering information and are unable to comment further at this point. We are fully cooperating with the police investigation," it said.
"PCF regards any form of physical contact that may cause harm as inappropriate," the operator added.
Speaking to ST on March 9, Madam Faezah said: "The whole incident actually is very traumatising for my son, but he can hide it very, very well. He masks his feelings. And this is very worrying for a four-year-old kid."
The 44-year-old lecturer in a tertiary institution said the boy has been afraid to return to school and chose to stay home on March 9. "I don't feel safe to send my son there."
She said the pre-school teachers had told her the man had gone back to the school after slapping the child and told teachers what he did, to justify "disciplining" her son.
"He's a toddler, he's still using a diaper... A four-year-old cannot be abused by any adult."
Madam Faezah said Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar has reached out to her.
When contacted, Ms Mariam referred ST to a comment she had posted on Madam Faezah's Instagram account on March 7 about the incident. In her comment, she said the incident happened after school hours and outside the school but the school will assist the police.
"Let the police complete the investigations and focus now on helping Isaac recover and feel safe. It is also a good moment to remember that we can all step up and help when we see something bad happen before us. Let's take care of one another especially, of our children," said Ms Mariam.
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