WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
Distressing CCTV footage shows a childcare worker kicking, slapping and shaking three young boys in more than 80 separate assaults while they were in her care.
Edwina Ling carried out the attacks over three days at Injinoo Childcare Centre, at the tip of Cape York in Far North Queensland, in late August and early September 2024.
The youngest victim, a 13-month-old boy, endured 55 of the 80 assaults captured on camera.
The boy’s parents, who cannot be named under laws protecting his identity, have released the disturbing footage in the hope it will lead to changes in the childcare system.
The footage, obtained by an ABC Four Corners investigation into child safety in Australian childcare, shows Ling grabbing the boy by his head and neck.
She is also seen forcefully shoving him into a standing activity centre, pressing his face into a pillow, kicking him across the floor and throwing objects over him.
Other footage appears to show Ling shaking the child, lifting him by one arm, slapping him across the face and covering his head with a pillow.
‘You just can’t imagine how someone can be so cruel to babies,’ his mother told ABC’s Four Corners.
Childcare worker Edwina Ling was recorded on CCTV physically abusing three young boys at a Far North Queensland childcare centre
The disturbing CCTV footage recorded more than 80 acts of physical abuse by Ling, including 55 against a 13-month-old boy
The family did not learn the full extent of what had happened until September 12, 2024, when they were told an educator had used excessive force against children and had been dismissed.
The next day, they were informed that the educator was Ling and were told what she had done to their son.
‘I just burst out crying. I just couldn’t believe that that actually happened, and it was our child,’ his mother said.
She was also told that her son had gone a full day without being fed. Ling had reportedly put food in front of him but refused to feed him as he cried.
The mother said she had earlier noticed marks on her son’s body and asked Ling whether everything was all right.
Ling reportedly claimed the injuries had been caused by another child who was pinning children down, scratching them and biting them.
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Brancis Tamwoy-Mookaa was serving as the centre’s acting director when her own observations began to raise concerns about Ling’s conduct.
Tamwoy-Mookaa heard other educators raise complaints about Ling’s behaviour, and became increasingly suspicious after Ling refused to hand over a crying baby.
She later saw red marks on the child’s skin that appeared to be consistent with fingernail scratches.
On her final day at the centre, she left a note urging management to check the CCTV footage in the baby room.
The footage was obtained by the ABC’s Four Corners during an investigation into child safety in childcare across Australia
Ling remained at the centre for almost another week before her dismissal.
In June 2026, Ling was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to 80 counts of common assault and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.
District Court Judge Dean Morzone KC described her offending as ‘monstrous, cruel and sadistic’ and a gross breach of trust.
She will be eligible for parole after serving just 12 months.
Ling joined NPA Family and Community Services, the organisation that ran the Injinoo centre, in 2022 as a casual cleaner before working as a cook.
In July 2024 she was moved into the baby room as an educator despite not having completed basic childcare qualifications, Four Corners reported.
NPA chair Ugari Nona said the organisation acted swiftly after learning of the abuse, notifying parents, police and the regulator.
Queensland Police told Four Corners the report that sparked their investigation had been made by a member of the public on September 13, after Ling had left the centre.
The little boy’s family believe that accountability should extend beyond Ling and address the framework which allowed the abuse to go undetected.
‘What about the NPA allowing this to happen too? They had a duty of care … and the regulatory authorities … making sure [the centres] were all running at standard,’ the boy’s father said.
‘It’s not just about our kid or that one childcare centre. It’s far bigger than that. So many centres fall outside [the system], and it affects so many kids. It’ll just keep happening if we don’t speak up.’