Local authorities in Hanoi's Ha Dong District is investigating a child abuse case at a private kindergarten where a 16-month-old girl is said to have been beaten for refusing to eat her food.
On May 26, the public was shocked and angered after images of a little girl with large bruises on her face and body were uploaded to the internet. The girl's family said after noticing the bruises, they tried to call two staff at Anh Sao Kindergarten but no one picked up the phone.
Large bruises on the girl's face
Then at night, one of the staff called them back and said the girl fell. They suggested that the children they looked after often fell under parents' watch so it wasn’t unsurprising that it could happen with 20 children to watch over.
Other parents, who also sent their children to the kindergarten, demanded to investigate the case because if this it was ignored, the children will continue to be abused.
On the next day, the head of the kindergarten came to the girl's house to apologise and asked for the photos to be taken down as they were badly affecting the kindergarten's reputation. She also promised to punish the caretakers.
"But I want everything to be transparent. Not just for my own family but also for other children studying at the kindergarten," said the girl's aunt. "This is not the first time we discover bruises on her body. We discovered this a month ago too. We reported it to the kindergarten and they promised to look into it but we have heard nothing since then."
Bruises on arm and leg
She went on to say that one of the carers admitted with her that she beat the girl because she had refused to eat. According to her, her niece is unstable at the moment and will panic.
Ha Dong Department of Education and Training has sent an investigative team to the kindergarten while the authorities of Kien Hung Ward held a meeting with police, owner and carers at Anh Sao Kindergarten and the girl's family.
