SEREMBAN: Four former employees from the Pusat Jagaan Warga Emas dan Terapi Fitrah have come forward with explanation, following allegation that they had slandered the centre for abusing senior citizens.
Ain (not her real name) said she had suspected something was amiss when she started working at the centre in 2016.
“When I first saw the abuse inflicted on one of the occupants by the supervisor, I was shocked. The supervisor had threatened to fire me from work if I reported it to the owner of the centre.
“I saw with my own eyes what she had done to the occupants. Some were beaten and kicked and even forced to drink their own urine. I couldn’t hold it and reported it to the owner but I was frustrated when it only fell on deaf ears," claimed the 24-year-old.
Not only the occupants, Ain said she had also become victim of the supervisor who had also scolded and beaten her up at various occasions before she made the decision to resign in July, last year.
“Besides abusing the occupants, contributions received by the centre had also been misused for personal purposes,” she claimed.
Another staff who only wished to be known as Fikri, also 24, claimed that the supervisor had once slapped the face one of the senior citizens with a sandal and broom, in front of him.
“I could only watch the cruelty as I was afraid. I couldn’t record the act as I wasn’t carrying my mobile phone at the time and the centre also has no closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) installed, making it more difficult to gather proofs.
“I remember several officers from the Welfare Department had also visited the premises after they received reports on the centre," said Fikri, who resigned from the centre in November last year.
Dila, 24, claimed that when she came for interview to work at the centre, she had doubts on the operation at the premises when she claimed that the owner didn’t request for her identification card and other documents to work at the centre.
“Working as a caretaker for the senior citizen deals with human’s life and safety. I was shocked when I wasn’t requested to produce any documents to work there.
“Later on, I found out about all the cruel acts conducted by the supervisor and I had confronted her and the owner. But no actions had been taken and I really pity the senior citizens and their families.
“The senior citizens are badly treated there and the supervisor too had given excessive sedative pills to them just to make them sleep,” she claimed.
Another caretaker known as Faizal, 26, who resigned early this month, denied that his allegation is sparked from his dissatisfaction after he was fired by the supervisor.
“No one was fired. We resigned on our own will as we couldn’t bear to watch the cruelty anymore.
“Some of the senior citizens are aggressive but it doesn’t mean that we can treat them badly or abuse them. They had reported it to their family members but perhaps due to their condition, their family members failed to get the message,” he said when met during a press conference held here today.
He expressed hope that the authority would take action following the exposure on the cruelty that is taking place at the premises.
On Monday, a Facebook post on the alleged abuse of senior citizens at Pusat Jagaan Warga Emas dan Terapi Fitrah went viral, prompting the State Women, Family and Welfare Affairs Committee chairman Nicole Tan Lee Koon, police and officers from state Welfare Department to conduct visit at the centre.