Kindergarten owner pins children to ground, force-feeds them

In a viral video that circulated online on Tuesday, a woman in a black shirt can be seen pinning down a boy, aged 4-5, and shoving an object resembling a pill into the boy’s mouth. In another video, the woman could be seen cornering a sobbing child and slapping him.

The videos were likely recorded by another caretaker, in front of other students.

The Linh Dong Ward People’s Committee said on Wednesday the incident happened at the Ti Bo kindergarten, and its owner, Lam Thi Bach Nga, admitted that she was the one who pinned the children to the ground, sat on them and beat them. The incident happened on April 11, authorities said.

Nga said she sat on the 5-year-old boy and force-fed him a piece of mandarin. She also confessed to slapping another six-year-old and then beating them with a piece of a plastic toy for allegedly breaking toys.

The committee said Nga had visited the parents of the two children to offer compensation and reconciliation, but the parents did not agree to her terms. Police are still verifying the incident.

Nguyen Thai Vinh Nguyen, head of the Thu Duc Department of Education and Training, said on Wednesday that the kindergarten would be suspended starting Thursday. The 22 kids currently attending the facility would be switched to other kindergartens in the area.

Luong Thi Hong Diep, head of the preschool education division under the Ho Chi Minh City education department, said what Nga did was "unacceptable."