Negri cops receive seven reports of alleged abuse at old folks home

SEREMBAN: Police have received seven reports about the alleged abuse of some residents at an old folks-cum-nursing home here. 

Seremban OCPD ACP Thiew Hock Poh said police have also recorded the statements of 10 individuals to date. 

"Those who lodged the reports are unhappy with the management of the home and want us to probe the alleged abuses," he said in a statement. 

He said one of those who lodged a report was a 34-year-old woman, who did so after receiving a WhatsApp message from a former member of the home's staff.

"She lodged a report around 4.35pm on Monday (June 17), after receiving the WhatsApp message on the alleged abuses around noon. 

"The woman also lodged a report when she received a viral message, showing a female, believed to be a supervisor, bullying an old woman at the home," he said. 

ACP Thiew said the case was being probed under sections 351 and 352 of the Penal Code 

On Monday, a Facebook account holder had alleged that some residents at the private old folks home were mistreated and manhandled and viral images of the purported acts have surfaced. 

The individual also alleged that some of the residents were forced to drink their own urine, given extra sleeping pills and assaulted since the home opened three years ago.

The writer also urged the authorities to investigate if these abuses have contributed to the deaths of 16 residents, who had passed away since early 2018. 

On Tuesday (June 18), four former employees at the home held a press conference, where they claimed that the allegations were true and that a female supervisor was solely responsible for it. 

They claimed that they raised the matter with the home owner, but no action was taken. The state Welfare Department said it was also probing the Facebook claims. 

Home owner Azrin Shala on Tuesday said he believed the allegations on social media were the work of two former employees, whom he had sacked.-Star