Mother flags 9yo daughter bullied & inappropriately touched; Punggol Cove Primary assures probes & support

SINGAPORE: A mother of a nine-year-old pupil at Punggol Cove Primary School has raised concerns on social media, alleging that her daughter was repeatedly bullied and inappropriately touched by other students at school.

The mother, identified in local media reports as Ho, began posting about the matter on Facebook from 9 July, alleging that her daughter had been bullied on multiple occasions and that the incidents were not properly handled.

She also alleged that, on one occasion, a teacher responded that vulgar expressions used by another student, including “stupid” and “f**k you”, were “normal”.

Alleged inappropriate touching

In a 16 July post, Ho said her daughter had told her that she had been “sexually molested twice” by a classmate in the school hall.

The mother said she was devastated by what her daughter had allegedly experienced and felt that the seriousness of the matter had not been acknowledged when she raised her concerns with the school.

She alleged that she was told the school would change her daughter's seat, but said this did not address what had happened or ensure her daughter's safety.

“I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for a thorough investigation, appropriate action, and a safe learning environment for my daughter and every other child,” she wrote.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Ho has also lodged a police report over the matter.

She called for appropriate action and said she would consider taking legal action if the issues remained unresolved.

Mother raises concerns over repeated bullying

In her social media posts, Ho alleged that her daughter had experienced repeated incidents of bullying at school and that the school had not handled them adequately.

She said that, rather than feeling protected, her daughter had been left feeling ignored and afraid to seek help.

In one post, she wrote: “This is not the kind of environment any child should have to learn in.”

Ho also described her daughter's alleged experience following the reported incidents, saying the nine-year-old had become afraid of going to school.

In an 18 July post, Ho claimed that she had met with the school on 17 July.

She alleged that her daughter had been blamed and accused of lying, and said that when she asked to view CCTV footage from the school hall on 8 July, she was told that footage existed but was not shown to her.

In a 20 July post, Ho wrote that her daughter had cried and was “terrified in her sleep”. 

Ho further alleged that her daughter could recognise dangerous situations and understood that she was being ignored or bullied by teachers.

She said her daughter no longer dared to attend school and that she was waiting for people in the education sector to help her transfer to another school.

The mother also questioned the response to her daughter's concerns and criticised what she described as a failure to adequately address the issues raised.

Her posts called for the school to take appropriate action and for her daughter's safety to be addressed.

School says reported incidents were investigated

In response to queries from Zaobao, Teo Whye Choo, principal of Punggol Cove Primary School, said the school was aware of the concerns raised by the parent.

“We take the well-being and safety of all our students very seriously,” Teo said.

Addressing the alleged bullying, Teo said an incident occurred in October 2025, when another student used inappropriate language towards the girl.

School says student was reprimanded and apologised in Oct 2025 incident

The school looked into the matter “promptly upon receiving feedback from the family”, Teo said.

The student involved was reprimanded and apologised to the girl, according to Teo.

She added that both families were informed about the incident and the actions taken.

In a separate incident on 2 July 2026, the girl informed her form teacher about alleged inappropriate physical contact by another student.

Teo said the school interviewed the two students separately on the same day and contacted their parents.

A further incident occurred on 8 July 2026, after which the school conducted the necessary investigations and remained in contact with the family to provide support, she added.

The school assured that it had promptly investigated each reported incident and maintained close contact with the students and parents involved.

Teo said the school would continue working closely with the students involved and their parents as investigations and follow-up processes continued.

“We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all students,” she said.

“Our teachers have followed up on each reported incident promptly and professionally, and have kept parents informed of the actions taken.”