Daycare abuse of 13-month-old boy goes viral

KUALA TERENGGANU - A 13-month-old boy has been allegedly abused when left temporarily at a childcare centre here since last week.

This was disclosed after the video footage of the boy being abused gone viral on social networking sites over the past few days, which also prompted the boy's family to lodge a report against the babysitter, who is in her early 20s.

The report was lodged at the Kuala Terengganu police headquarters (IPD) here about at 8.30pm today.

In the video footage, which lasted 43 seconds, the boy was seen to have been slapped in the face several times by the babysitter in her effort to make him stop crying.

The woman, who was accompanied by another caregiver, also covered the toddler's face with a towel to silence the child.

Meanwhile, the boy's mother, who insisted anonymity, said she did not expect this from the babysitter as the victim's two sisters, now aged six and nine, had also been sent to the same daycare centre before.

It is learnt that the boy was taken to hospital with fever after his family lodged the report.

However, based on information from the hospital, the victim did not suffer any physical injury.

Kuala Terengganu police chief ACP Idris Abdul Rafar when contacted confirmed the incident. — Bernama