The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) has found a kindergarten involved in an alleged sexual abuse case earlier this year had mishandled the incident and also had failed to respond to the case in line with DSEJ regulations, the bureau announced in a statement yesterday.
The statement didn’t identify the kindergarten. However, after the news of the alleged sexual abuse was broken by local media in May, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng confirmed that the private D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten was the target of the bureau’s investigation of the case.
The kindergarten is owned and run by the Macanese Education Promotion Association (APIM), in Avenida de Sidonio Pais near Flora Garden.
The kindergarten, according to data on the DSEJ website, had 224 pupils attending its K1 to K3 classes as of November last year.
Yesterday’s statement points out that the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau has taken statements from 18 people, consisting of the kindergarten operator, the principal, teaching staff and parents.
The statement said that according to the administrative investigation by the bureau, the way the kindergarten’s principal and teaching staff responded to the alleged sexual abuse amounted to a breach of a law and three regulations related to education. The statement underlined that the bureau has decided to fine the kindergarten operator for its mishandling of the case.
The statement did not elaborate on the regulatory breaches by the kindergarten, or the amount of the fine. However, a report yesterday by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of government-owned broadcaster TDM, said that the kindergarten was fined 12,000 patacas.
According to a regulation for private education institutions which has been in force since 1993, an institution found to have breached education-related regulations can be fined between 1,500 and 15,000 patacas.
On May 10, the Portuguese-language daily Hoje Macau broke the news about the alleged sexual abuse case at the kindergarten, which it clearly identified.
Shortly after the Hoje Macau report, the bureau gave a media briefing regarding the case, but at that time declined to reveal details such as the name of the kindergarten, and how many pupils the case involved.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng on May 14 confirmed that the kindergarten received at least one complaint from a parent about suspected sexual abuse in October, pointing out that the kindergarten had failed to report the alleged incident to the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) said in May that they had received three separate reports from parents suspecting that their daughters had been sexually abused by a male kindergarten assistant, who had allegedly abused one of the three girls as early as at the end of last year.
The male kindergarten assistant, a local Filipino, was arrested over the alleged sexual abuse. According to local media reports, the suspect, whose work reportedly included taking care of the pupils’ personal hygiene, has been suspended since the parents’ allegations. He has meanwhile been released on his own recognisance, awaiting a possible trial.
DSEJ Deputy Director Kong Chi Meng last month noted that more than 10 parents had sought assistance from his bureau over the alleged sexual assault at the kindergarten.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese-language radio channel of Radio Macau reported last night that the psychologist of the kindergarten has been “removed” from her post in the wake of the alleged sexual abuse case.
The report also quoted APIM President Miguel Senna Fernandes as saying that the kindergarten’s principal and one of its teachers are still undergoing disciplinary proceedings. The report did not name the psychologist, principal and teacher. It also said that the Filipino teaching assistant had meanwhile also been “removed” from his post.
Senna Fernandes, a lawyer by profession, also said that the kindergarten intended to pay the fine. While deploring the bureau’s decision to impose the fine, he admitted that it was “not high”.
The kindergarten’s term starts on September 6 with more than 200 pupils, the report said.
This photo taken in May shows the private D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten in Avenida de Sidonio Pais. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
