Creche parents want answers about boy ‘fed dishwashing liquid’

16 September 2016 - 21:43 By Neo Goba

Parents and the owner of a Gauteng crèche where a five-year-old boy was allegedly fed dishwashing liquid are meeting this evening for an update on an investigation into the incident.The meeting was orchestrated by parents‚ who formed a WhatsApp group after they saw a report on SABC news about the Grace Day Care and Aftercare in Kempton Park.Father of boy allegedly fed liquid dishwashing soap at crèche wants justiceThe father of a five year-old boy who was fed liquid dishwashing soap as a form of punishment at his previous crèche‚ wants justice to be done. "This email permeates from the outrageous incident we saw on SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) news [bulletin] with allegations of abuse at your school. Surely this has raised a great concern‚" a parent wrote."We wish to request an urgent meeting with the school management so as to put our apprehensions & uncertainties at ease."TMG Digital understands that the school principal‚ Adele de Klerk‚ will not be available for the meeting "due to other commitments".The incident reportedly happened on April 19‚ a day before the child's mother’s birthday‚ but was only pursued after the SABC took up the father's plight last week.Gauteng Department of Social Development head Nandi Mayathula-Khoza and police visited creche on Monday to hear grievances from the boy’s father‚ adding that social workers and the police would investigate the matter and the school would conduct an internal investigation."We spoke to the owners of the crèche and they said they thought the matter was spoken about with the father … and was resolved. The father feels very aggrieved and says that the child is psychologically affected‚” Mayathula-Khoza said.“The school says there was an apology from the [child's educator] to the parents and that there was a warning letter to the [principal]‚ but then my officials have requested for a copy of the warning letter and it's not forthcoming. We want to leave the matter in the hands of the police because it has now been reported and we want the law to take its course."Mayathula-Khoza said: "The Children’s Act 38 of 2005 stipulates that children need to be in an environment in which they are cared for and protected in order to be safe."The principal will face child abuse or common assault charges‚ Ekurhuleni North police said on Monday...

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