KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Additional standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been put in place to prevent child abuse and death cases at daycare centres.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said that among the new SOPs is an alert system created for daycare centres in government buildings.

"Firstly, ensure that the daycare is registered with us (Welfare Department).

"When we hear about a rise in these cases, we added more SOPs. That’s why we ensure that the CCTVs (closed-circuit television) are installed in these daycare centres for us to monitor what happens there.

"For daycare centres at government buildings, there is a ‘reminder’ system to monitor if the child has arrived at the daycare centre, 30 minutes if the child hasn’t arrived, that’s our SOP,” Nancy told the Parliament during Question Time today.

She was replying to a supplementary question asked by DAP’s Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun on whether the government has taken any proactive steps in light of a rise in child abuse and death cases.

She said the ministry is also working with the police to screen workers at the daycare centres, ensuring they do not have criminal records.

"We are working with the police to scan the babysitters or workers working at the daycare centres if they have a criminal record.

"That is among the initiatives we have taken,” she said.