Authorities investigating abuse of boy with disability at private centre

AMMAN — The cries of a boy at a private-owned disability care centre were too much to be ignored, prompting a neighbour to call the police in the middle of the night on Wednesday.

The Social Development Ministry said the child with a disability was crying for help after being physically abused at the centre.

“It turned out that the boy has been subjected to physical abuse,” ministry spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday. 

Family Protection Department staff raided the centre and referred the boy to the forensic unit and the case to the prosecutor general, Ratrout added.

In response to the incident, Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan formed a committee, which includes a representative from the Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities, to look into the incident.

“This committee will in no way interfere in the course of the law, but is obligated to gather information surrounding the incident,” Ratrout noted.

Although news websites reported that the 14-year-old boy was a Syrian, the ministry refused to confirm or deny the information or give any details on the type of the boy’s disability and location of the centre.

“We will disclose all these details once the committee is done with its report,” Ratrout said.

About a month ago, a delegation from the ministry’s disability affairs department visited the centre in question and demanded that it rectify its situation after discovering some “minor” violations, according to the ministry.

In another case, a disability care centre in Amman was recently closed due to safety violations.

Last year, the Social Development Ministry shut down eight care centres and issued warnings to 14 others.

The ministry stepped up its efforts to inspect care centres in 2012 after a documentary aired by the BBC featured children being abused in several special education centres, turning the matter into an issue of public concern.

Following the documentary, His Majesty King Abdullah paid unannounced visits to several special education centres and issued directives to the government to investigate all facilities providing services to people with disabilities and hold accountable every person involved in violations.

To this end, the Social Development Ministry formed an investigative committee, which is continuing to examine the situation of orphans and disability care centres across Jordan.

Several centres have been closed down or received warnings since then, while legal action has been taken against staff members found responsible for violations.