Netizens were appalled when pictures of disabled children kept in cages surfaced on social media. Vivien Arie who was visiting an aunt at the Batu Gajah Disabled Children’s Welfare Home. She was touring the grounds when she was met with the horrifying sight.
credit : Vivien Arie
She claimed she saw more than one child kept in cages, without bedding or water – and that she saw only one shower and one toilet. She only managed a quick glance and snapped a couple of pictures.
credit: Vivien Arie
She shared her disturbing encounter with TheCoverage:
“I saw this inhuman treatment to handicapped patients during my visit. They were locked in the cage like dogs without water, without bed, nothing. What’s worse is that a few people are sharing one single cage. Actually it’s very dark. No lighting is offered. The house stinks like hell. With one public shower machine and toilet bowl for sharing. It smelt like a mixture of Clorox with urine and faeces. Something like chemicals and excretion. I took these photos privately from the window since the door is locked and the office is just in front of this locked house. I’m not sure is there anyone taking care (attend to their needs) of these children since they’re left and locked inside while the people in charge are chilling in the office, just in front of that locked house. I suspect foul-play on the money handling since the home is well furnished and it receives donations very often. We donated a lot and we were told that the home has received frequent visits from the public. I really wonder what happened to the money because they received so many donations and yet they did so little.”
Batu Gajah Disabled Children’s Welfare Home chairman R. Sivalingam, when contacted by Harian Metro, explained that the residents were placed in the enclosures for their own safety and the safety of others. He went on to explain that this was done for residents who were severely mentally-challenged that can turn aggressive.
Later, when the NST visited the home, Sivalingam claimed that the misunderstanding started when he asked the sister of a resident to sponsor a stall for a food fair to be held on Nov 27.
“She was unhappy about it. She suddenly came up with this story about the children being abused,” he claimed.
Sivalingam said the home had been in operation since 1968 and operated on public support. He said there had been no problems thus far. He also explained that the mentally-ill residents were only placed in the enclosures during mealtimes so as not to inconvenience the other residents.
When one of the commentors mentioned this to Vivien over Facebook, this was her reply:
“I’m the one who reported, my parents are the ones who donated, and they don’t know anything about this.”
She has since sought the help of, and filed a complaint to UNICEF.
credit: NST