PETALING JAYA: While the case of abused Down syndrome teenager Bella may have culminated with her abuser and former caretaker serving a prison sentence, cases of child abuse and negligence have never ceased.
On July 8, a 31-year-old man was arrested over the death of his girlfriend’s three year-old son in Cheng, Melaka.
The man was said to have kicked and beaten up the three-year-old for staining a sofa at his home.Another toddler, aged one year and 11 months, suffered multiple injuries to her face and back after being abused, allegedly by her mother’s boyfriend in Setapak.
Wangsa Maju deputy OCPD Deputy Supt D. Saralathan said it had received a distress call about the incident at around 5.05pm on June 8.
Several cases of children losing their lives after being left in cars have also been reported time and again.
In April last year, a 10-year-old girl died after she was pinned underneath a reversing car in Kuala Ketil, Kedah.
The girl was allegedly playing in the family car with her younger brother and had released the handbrake. She then stood behind the car to stop the car from reversing.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said on March 27 that a total of 828 male and 743 female children were physically abused in 2019. In 2022, there were 679 cases involving boys and 622 cases involving girls.
A total of 336 abuse cases between 2021 and 2022 happened at both registered and non-registered kindergartens and daycare centres, she had told Parliament.
On May 18, Children’s Commissioner (CC) Dr Farah Nini Dusuki urged the public to support government agencies by reporting unlicensed or unregistered childcare centres to the Social Welfare Department.
She said this was in light of the “alarming” and “deeply disturbing” spate of child abuse or neglect cases allegedly perpetrated by childcare providers or babysitters.
