{
  "id": 16856858,
  "title": "Autism therapist fined for dragging 4-year-old boy onto floor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/autism-therapist-fined-for-dragging-4-year-old-boy-onto-floor",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-28T06:05:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times",
    "slug": "straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/autism-therapist-fined-for-dragging-4-year-old-boy-onto-floor"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Singapore, a behavioural therapist named Tricia Lee Hsien was recently fined $5,000 for violently disciplining a four-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome. Lee, who worked for the Autism Recovery Network Singapore, faced charges of voluntarily causing hurt to a person under the age of 14. She pleaded guilty to a single count of the offence.\n\nLee's employment began in January 2024, and she was assigned to teach the young boy in his home. The boy's parents had installed a security camera to monitor the lessons, but they did not interfere during sessions, even when the child exhibited tantrums, trusting Lee's judgment.\n\nOn June 13, 2024, during a reading lesson, the boy began fidgeting. Lee instructed him to place his hands on the table to avoid violence or snatching items. When he refused to comply and attempted to grab the book, Lee pulled it away. The boy struck her in the face, causing her to lose her spectacles.\n\nLee retaliated by swinging her left hand twice and forcefully throwing the book onto the floor. She then picked up the book and threw it against the table and wall. The boy retaliated by striking her face two more times, again knocking off her spectacles. Lee then stood up, grabbed the boy's hand, and dragged him from the chair onto the floor in an act of physical violence. She carried the boy out of the room and informed his father that he had hit her face.\n\nDespite multiple attempts to calm the boy, the session ended fruitlessly. The boy's mother later reviewed the security camera footage and was horrified by Lee's actions. She alerted Lee's employer, submitted a police report, and had the boy examined by a hospital the following day. No physical injuries were discovered.\n\nLee was subsequently terminated from her position on June 14, 2024. The maximum penalty for voluntarily causing hurt to a person under 14 in Singapore could have been up to six years in jail.",
  "summary": "Tricia Lee Hsien, 29, was fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a person below 14.",
  "key_points": [
    "Singapore therapist fined $5,000 for violent discipline of 4-year-old boy",
    "Lee pleaded guilty to hurting a person under 14, faces up to 6 years jail",
    "Boy's mother alerted employer, police, and had him examined for injuries"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}