Ministry Probing Alleged Threats Abuse Against Homeless Couple

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Nancy Shukri responded to a report about a homeless couple who were allegedly verbally abused by two welfare officers.PETALING JAYA: Women, family, and community development minister Nancy Shukri says her ministry is probing an incident involving two officers from the welfare department who allegedly threatened and abused a homeless elderly couple.
According to Berita Harian, Nancy said the ministry’s officers had met with the couple to assess the situation following the incident.
She said based on initial feedback from the ministry’s officers, the elderly woman was not keen on continuing to receive aid and wanted to earn her own income by working at a restaurant at Kompleks Kota Raya in Kuala Lumpur.
“She wanted to stay near her workplace, and so we offered them accommodation at (the National Welfare Foundation’s Kuala Lumpur) Anjung Singgah. However, her husband refused to stay there due to overcrowding.
“Subsequently, we offered them temporary accommodation at a halfway house, and this is being arranged,” she told reporters after a Hari Raya open house in Kuching.
Earlier, a news portal reported that an elderly woman and her husband who spent Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri on the streets of Kuala Lumpur were allegedly threatened and verbally abused by two officers from the social welfare department (JKM).
The portal reported that the woman, identified as Zainab, and her husband, became homeless after they were kicked out by their son from his house in Kulim, Kedah.
The story of the woman, whose real name is Zaleha Haron, and her husband, who suffers from depression, went viral with calls and emails from the public asking for more details in order to raise funds for them.
The portal reported that instead of helping the couple, the JKM officers allegedly threatened them and told them to pack their belongings and leave Kuala Lumpur.
It was reported that Zaleha and her husband were taken by car to the Integrated Transport Terminal (TBS) in Bandar Tasik Selatan and told to board a bus to Muar, Johor, where they had once lived. - FMT

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