Special needs caregiver arrested on assault charge

A children’s home has opened an assault charge with police against a staff member of a special needs school after she was caught on surveillance cameras allegedly assaulting a 10-year-old pupil.

The chairperson of the school’s governing body‚ Farnaaz Haffejee‚ who saw the video footage captured last month‚ said it showed a child and youth care worker at the Randburg Clinic School in Johannesburg‚ apparently twisting the arm of a pupil behind his back in the dining hall of the school’s hostel which seems to cause him to fall to the floor.

Saleni is then seen pulling the boy towards the corner of the room. The footage shows her bending over him and allegedly hitting him with her hands while he is on the ground. The worker has denied assaulting the boy‚ saying she was just restraining him.

• For more on this article‚ please visit Times Select.