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Daycare center teacher muffles toddler with tissues

January 20, 2015
(Yonhap)

(Yonhap)

ULSAN (Yonhap) — A daycare center teacher in her 40s has been put under emergency arrest for allegedly shoving tissues into a toddler’s mouth to silence him, police said Tuesday.

The woman, who owns the facility in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, faces allegations that she forced tissues and towels into the mouth of a 22-month-old boy to make him stop crying, the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency said, adding that she appears to have done so repeatedly from November to December.

The woman said she was frustrated by the boy, who cries often, a police source said, adding that she partially admitted to her wrongdoing.

The arrest comes a week after footage from security cameras showed another nanny punching a 4-year-old girl at a daycare center in Incheon, west of Seoul.

The incident caused a national uproar, with the government unveiling new measures to shut down daycare centers that are found to have abused children.

Critics, however, argue that many employees at daycare centers that opened under the Park Geun-hye administration appear to be unqualified to work with children.

Increasing the number of child care centers was one of President Park’s campaign pledges.