‘Welfare home a safe haven for residents’

KUCHING: Welfare homes under the Welfare Department are safe havens for their residents.

This was assured by Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, who said there are protocols to follow at these welfare institutions which also serve as children’s rehabilitation centre and protection shelter.

“There are protocols that have to be observed at welfare homes. Should an incident occur between a staff of the institution and a resident, stern action will be taken against the perpetrator,” she said when contacted yesterday.

Fatimah was commenting on a recent case in Petaling Jaya where six children are believed to have fallen victim to the perversion of a 55-year- old man entrusted to ensure the children’s well-being at a home for underprivileged and orphaned girls in Ampang Jaya.

She said the Welfare Department had a Children Protection Policy, which is practised by all child institutions as a protocol to provide protection for staff and residents.

According to a report in an online portal, the suspected paedophile, who is said to have co- founded the home and was employed as a caretaker, allegedly molested and took nude photos of the girls, aged between 10 and 12, on numerous occasions.

He is also alleged to have repeatedly molested and raped a 12-year- old girl at the home.

The suspect went into hiding after Kuala Lumpur and Selangor police launched a manhunt for him following police reports lodged against him.

He was arrested in Klang on Jan 4 and is being investigated under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act.