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KUANTAN — Three sisters aged 12, 10 and nine have been discovered to be living in horrifying conditions on the upper floor of a commercial premise at Batu 6, Jalan Gambang here.
The living space was found to be riddled with rubbish as well as the excretions of animals such as dogs, foxes, and birds.
The three siblings are understood to be living under the care of an uncle in his early 30’s, who rents the premises for RM500 a month.
Their plight was discovered after the president of the Parent-Teacher Association of SJKC Taman Tas, Yeoh Kok Bin inspected the living quarters along with a representative from the Pahang Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Food wrappers, bottles and scrap items were seen strewn on the stairs, while the visitors waited for almost 10 minutes as the three siblings struggled to put the dog in a cage, with an unpleasant odour evident as soon as the door was opened.
"The eldest sister said they would usually eat instant noodles or bread after coming home from school while waiting for their uncle to come home with food. If there were any ingredients at home, the eldest sister said she would cook as she can prepare simple food," Yeoh told the media here, today.
He also found out from the eldest sister that the siblings' uncle worked as a welder at Air Putih here, and would leave early in the morning, while their 35-year-old father only returned home during the weekend as he worked in a forest at Rompin about 136 km from here.
Their 34-year-old mother is said to have been working in Johor or Singapore for the past three years.
"The girls' father would give RM50 to each child for their daily expenses while the uncle would give RM60 to the eldest sister to buy instant noodles and other cooking ingredients, and would top it up if the money ran out," he said.
The unconducive environment, according to Yeoh, caused the three siblings to be left behind in their studies as they were often absent. When asked by the class teacher, the excuse given was that they woke up late, and they previously had a record of skipping school for two weeks straight although the school was less than a kilometre from where they lived.
"Their school uniforms are also dirty, wrinkled and torn. The school is trying to help by giving priority to them to receive assistance such as uniforms and food from non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
"Some teachers have donated mattresses and pillows after seeing the condition of their house. We had called their guardian to discuss the fate of these children several times, but the efforts were to no avail because their uncle never showed up," he said.
Yeoh had suggested that the three siblings be placed in a childcare centre, however, he failed to persuade the children to leave the house because they did not want to be separated from their uncle.
However, following the inspection, their uncle is said to have agreed to temporarily place the three siblings at a care home to give him time to clean up the place or to find another suitable living space. — Bernama, September 21, 2020
