Where to Put Rice Grains? Kindergarten Teacher Fined 2 Million Won for Child Abuse After Sticking Lunch Rice Grains Under Desk

Daegu District Court. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A former kindergarten teacher who was prosecuted for shaking and hitting a child by tightly grabbing the child's arm for sticking rice grains under the desk was sentenced to a fine.

The Daegu District Court Criminal Division 6 (Judge Kim Jae-ho) announced on the 8th that it sentenced former kindergarten teacher A (30), who was charged with physically abusing a child in her class (violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes), to a fine of 2 million won.

A, who worked as a kindergarten teacher in Dong-gu, Daegu, was prosecuted for abuse after grabbing B, a boy who was eating lunch last October, causing him to sit down because he stuck rice grains under the desk, shaking him by holding both arms, and hitting his arms.

The court stated, "Child abuse committed by a person obligated to report child abuse crimes is even more culpable," and "the victim child’s guardian has not forgiven the defendant to date."

It also explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "The crime appears to have been committed impulsively during the process of disciplining the child, the defendant is a first-time offender, and she admitted to the crime and showed remorse."

The victim child's parents said, "The teacher grabbed the child's arm so hard that the child had bruises on the arm," and "the child received a medical diagnosis of two weeks of treatment, which led us to file a complaint against the teacher."