Govt closes unlicensed nursery linked to abuse case

 

The Social Welfare Department immediately closed the nursery believed to be involved in the case of the abuse of two babies in Mutiara Rini, Skudai, after it was confirmed to have operated without a licence.

Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairperson Khairin-Nisa Ismail said the childcare centre's two other branches in Jalan Abd Samad and Gelang Patah have also been closed.

Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairperson Khairin-Nisa Ismail (centre)

Khairin-Nisa, who inspected the nursery this morning, also met the operator of the nursery and sought further clarification on the matter.

"I found that the nursery has not yet obtained a licence from the department because it has not yet obtained permission from the local authorities, the Johor Health Department and the Fire and Rescue Department.

“If permission has not been obtained from these three parties, we cannot issue a licence. Even before this, we had advised them not to operate without a licence but they are stubborn and continued to operate.

"As such, the three nurseries were immediately closed by the state Social Welfare Department under Section 20a of the Child Care Centre Act 1984,” she said when contacted today.

Khairin-Nisa also advised parents to check with the authorities whether the childcare centres they are sending their children to are licensed.

Earlier, two videos had gone viral showing two babysitters in a nursery roughing up babies, drawing various reactions from netizens.

Later, a woman believed to be a babysitter at the nursery was remanded for four days from today.

- Bernama