WHEN contacted, a spokesman from the pre-school said: 'We take the safety of the children very seriously and this is the first time an incident of this nature has happened in our centre.'

Keertika, she added, was immediately given first aid to stop the bleeding and taken to the nearest doctor for treatment.

The pre-school has been following up with the children involved to ascertain that they and their parents are all right.

The teachers, centre principal and branch principal have visited Keertika to ensure that she is coping well.

Maya will also receive counselling to ensure that she is coping psychologically.

The teacher involved has also been counselled by the pre-school.

A special committee, headed by senior members of the pre-school's exco, has been formed to look into the incident and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

The spokesman said investigations are still on.

Mr Charles Chong, MP for the constituency, 'is also very concerned and has directed that no efforts be spared to ensure that both children are recovering well from the incident', she said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on 23 Sept, 2008.