On the afternoon of September 5, at a press conference on the socio-economic situation of Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Vo Thi Chinh - Vice Chairman of District 12 People's Committee provided information related to the child abuse case at Hoa Hong Shelter .
Ms. Vo Thi Chinh said that District 12 has inspected Hoa Hong Shelter many times. Most recently, in July, the Fatherland Front Committee of District 12 directly supervised this facility.
However, in all inspections, there was no discovery of the number of children being cared for here exceeding regulations or of any acts of violence. "This shows that the owner of the shelter has acted in a way that is in defiance of state agencies," said Ms. Chinh.
Ms. Chinh also shared that the biggest difficulty is that regular inspections must be announced in advance according to regulations. This creates an opportunity for violating establishments to easily cope by concealing their violations.
The surprise inspections were not as effective as expected because the facility operated very secretly, making it difficult to detect violations.
According to the license, Hoa Hong Shelter is only allowed to receive a maximum of 39 children, but this facility has seriously violated the regulations by taking care of 86 children, 47 more than the regulation. Regarding this issue, Ms. Chinh said that the authorities will continue to investigate the origin and personal background of the children to clarify whether there are signs of profiteering or not.
Mr. Nguyen Tang Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City, said that Hoa Hong Shelter was inspected and monitored many times but no violations were found, which is a lesson for the locality and the industry. Therefore, in the near future, the authorities will organize many surprise inspections and cross-inspections to ensure that child care is carried out in accordance with regulations and is safe.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has 16 public social protection facilities and 64 non-public facilities. Through monitoring the mobilization resources at social protection facilities, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City recorded that most facilities in the area are operating well.
However, there are still some sponsoring facilities that do not accept gifts but only accept money. "While the children are in great need of gifts, milk, nutritious food and clothes, some facilities only accept money. This is an issue that needs to be promptly rectified," said Mr. Minh.
As of September 4, three centers under the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs have received all children from the Rose Shelter . The children have been given health checks, vaccinations, and appropriate accommodations, and their mental health has been stabilized.
The Investigation Police Agency of District 12 Police determined that five nannies at the Hoa Hong Orphanage had committed acts of child abuse. Among them, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Cam, 46 years old, from Dong Nai, was detained for investigation of the act of torturing others.
District 12 Police are also coordinating with Ho Chi Minh City Police and other provinces to bring the remaining three nannies to headquarters for questioning.
