A boy aged 8 from Chisinau was withdrawn from the family of the violent guardian and placed at a municipal reception center. The head of the Chisinau Child Rights Protection Division Svetlana Chifa said the child had been under guardianship for over a year, time during which he had been ill-treated.

In a news conference at IPN, Svetlana Chifa denied the press reports that the authorities acted illegally. In 2011, the child was abandoned by his mother and left in the care of a neighbor. The woman was deprived of her parental rights, while the child was put in the guardianship of the family of the neighbor, who made a relevant approach. The child protection authority intervened following notifications about the abusive behavior of the guardian, which didn’t favor the development and psychological comfort of the child.

Valentina Canariov, head of the Rascani Child Rights Protection Division, said that when the guardianship was instituted, the woman didn’t arouse concern. The first report about the possible abuse was received in August 2012. Neighbors alerted the police, saying a child cried and wept in the woman’s apartment. Afterward, the woman several times took the child to the psychiatric hospital. She was deprived of guardianship rights on January 15 this year.

Psychologists of the National Center for Child Abuse Prevention established that the boy was the victim of emotional and physical abuse. His state of health is not the best. The Center’s head Daniela Samboteanu, who is also a member of the Press Council, said the Council will examine this case to see what deontological norms the journalists who whore about this child without seeking the authorities’ position violated.