BABY ABUSE: Govt should set up day-care centres

I REFER to the report "Baby girl raped and sodomised" (NST, Feb 23).

This is not the first time that babies have been sexually abused by persons under whose care these infants had been placed.

In the good old days, mothers could depend on their husband's income alone to meet family expenses and be at home to take care of their children.

Nowadays, this option is available only to wives of high-income husbands (or wives who can manage household expenses with their husband's earnings alone).

Depending on maids to look after babies without constant adult supervision is a risky and dangerous proposition, unless you have the good fortune to be blessed with thoroughly trustworthy, capable and reliable maids.
Not all business establishments are able to set up crèches for the children of their women employees.

It is unreasonable to expect the proprietor of a small private sector establishment, say, a food stall, to set up a crèche for the babies of mothers working at his stall.

The onus is on the government to set up affordable (subsidised) crèches for low-income working mothers in areas that are easily accessible to them.

Government-subsidised crèches with all female staff should be set up for working mothers who earn less than RM1,500 a month.