The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) vowed in a statement yesterday that it will strengthen protection of local nurseries and the children entrusted to them, in response to the “significant” requests by those in charge of the creches and family members calling for the installation of video surveillance systems on the premises.
According to the statement, in light of the recent death of a baby girl at Fong Chong (Taipa) Nursery, the bureau has carried out an “effective” review of the guidelines about the city’s nurseries, assessed the feasibility of setting up video surveillance on their premises and, at the same time, requiring all creches to reinforce their regular evaluation of their services, in the hope of enhancing their control and management capacity.
The nursery is owned by the Taipa branch of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau (Kai Fong).
The death certificate reportedly confirms that the four-month-old infant died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), informally known as crib death.
The statement said that IAS President Hon Wai met on Wednesday with Iao Hin Chit, deputy coordinator of the Office for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP), during which both recognised the need for a new assessment and optimisation of the current guidelines regarding the protection of the creches and their service users. Both underlined the importance of striking the right balance between safety and personal privacy through specific service guidelines in order to implement feasible measures that should protect the rights and interests of both children and nurseries.
The bureau reaffirmed in the statement that it has responded to and “rigorously” monitored the aftermath of the incident that occurred at the Taipa’s nursery on October 19, while “proactively” collaborating with the police forces’ investigation by providing all available information related to the incident. In the statement, the bureau also underlined that following the incident the bureau “immediately” launched its investigation and began to review the ill-fated nursery’s services, in close cooperation with the facility’s person-in-charge.
Regarding the nursery management’s decision to close the facility by the end of the year, the bureau said that it is “proactively” supporting parents and guardians in transferring their children to other creches, underlining that the closure of the nursery will not compromise the ongoing investigation, nor will any possible liability be pre-empted by its closure.
According to the website of the Macau Social Affairs Bureau, 63 creches are licensed to operate this year, 22 of which are private operations, while the others are subsidised by the government.
This photo taken recently shows the Fong Chong (Taipa) Nursery on Rua de Nam Keng in Taipa. – Photo: All About Macau
