JOHOR BARU, May 16 — The Johor Social Welfare Department (JKM) today ordered the immediate closure of a childcare centre cum nursery in Mutiara Rini, Skudai here that was linked to the abused infants case and for not having a valid operating licence.
The department also ordered the closure of two branches owned by the same childcare centre in Jalan Abdul Samad here and in Iskandar Puteri.
Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Khairin-Nisa Ismail @ Md On confirmed the immediate closure for the childcare centres.
She said the childcare centre’s operator had failed to obtain approvals from the relevant government agencies and departments before starting operations.
"The childcare centre in question has not obtained a licence from JKM yet due to their failure to secure approvals from the local councils, the State Health Department as well as the Fire and Rescue Department.
"Any childcare centres need prior approval from these three parties before JKM can issue a license to operate,” she said when contacted today.
Earlier, it was reported that police arrested a 21-year-old woman here for her alleged role in two abuse cases involving babies at a childcare centre recently.
The suspect’s arrest came after two short video footages of the alleged crime was shared on social media that led police to investigate.
Khairin-Nisa said she was at the childcare centre in Mutiara Rini, Skudai to inspect the premise and supervise its closure.
She said she managed to meet with the childcare centre’s operator to advise them on the importance of having a licence.
"The three childcare centres in question were immediately stopped from operating by the state JKM under Section 20a of the Child Care Centre Act 1984.
"Under the Act, those found guilty can be fined RM10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years or both,” she said.
According to Khairin-Nisa, the childcare centre’s owner had applied for a licence earlier this year but had illegally operated for the past three to four months.
She advised parents with infant and young children to refer any childcare centres or child nurseries with JKM for validation on their status.
Earlier, police obtained a four day remand on the suspect to facilitate investigations under Section 31(1)(a) Child Act 2001 for the alleged abuse of two babies.
Investigations revealed that the two infant victims, identified as an 11-month-old girl and a nine-month-old boy, were allegedly abused by the suspect at a childcare centre in Mutiara Rini, Iskandar Puteri recently.
The suspect, who works in the Mutiara Rini centre, was arrested after investigators tracked her following the video footage of the alleged crime was shared on social media.
The two videos, which were 48 seconds and 39 seconds in duration respectively, showed a woman mistreating the babies.
