Phoong (center) and Kalsom (left) visits the daycare center today.
KOTA KINABALU (Aug 10): A caretaker at a childcare centre here who allegedly abused a four-year-old boy under her care has been remanded until August 17.
Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie issued the remand order today.
Kota Kinabalu police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the 27-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday evening to assist police investigation in an alleged child abuse case which took place at a childcare center in Luyang.
The case is currently being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001. Under this section, any person who has in his or her care a child that is being neglected, abandoned or exposed the child in a manner likely to cause him/her physical or emotional injury can be fined not exceeding RM20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or both.
Mohd Zaidi said the four-year-old boy told his parents that he was assaulted by the caretaker, resulting in injuries on various parts of his body.
“The parents then visited the childcare center and reviewed the CCTV footage which confirmed the assault. A police report was then lodged by the boy’s parents,” he said.
Mohd Zaidi added that so far police have received three police reports relating to the incident.
“One was from the victim’s mother, one from the childcare center owner and another from the caretaker (suspect) who claimed that she was assaulted by the boy’s 36-year-old father,” he said, adding that the victim and suspect were being referred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital II for medical examination.
Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe, Kota Kinabalu deputy chief Superintendent Hajah Kalsom Idris, and officials and representatives from the Kota Kinabalu Social Welfare Department made a visit to the daycare centre today.
A two-minute-12-second video clip recorded from the CCTV of the centre showed a child being kicked, slapped, and hit on his head with a ruler by the caretaker during meal time, and went viral in social media since Wednesday evening.