FIVE siblings between the ages of four months and six years old were yesterday being treated at Nicosia’s Makarios Hospital for the effects of negligence.
The two boys and three girls were taken to hospital by the Social Welfare Department on Tuesday night, after they discovered the children had been left without care or food for three days.
The Department had been checking on the Nicosia family after receiving a tip-off.
When Social Workers tried to remove the children from the house, the parents refused to open the door and a court order had to be obtained for police to enter the house and take the children.
The children were taken to the Makarios Hospital, where they were examined by doctors and by State Pathologist, Eleni Antoniou.
“I was disgusted at the condition of the children when I examined them. There are no signs of abuse or injuries, but they were very dirty,” said Antoniou.
According to the Head of the Social Welfare Department, Evanthia Papasavvas, the children had been neglected for at least three days and would be removed from their parents if it was discovered they could not care for them properly. She also said the conditions in the house had been very bad.
“The children will be taken to a foster home, preferably with relatives. We are working with the parents and other interested parties to decide on the children’s best interests,” said Papasavvas.
Papasavvas said the family had economic problems, but were receiving benefit payments from the government.
The children were still at the hospital yesterday and no indication has been given as to when they will be discharged.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
