Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Mircea Buga signed a decree to fire the director of the Orhei residential institution for boys with disabilities, IPN reports.

Mircea Buga told a news conference that an assessment commission led by Deputy Minister Boris Gilca identified serious violations at the institution, caused by defective management. There was no communication with the superior institutions and there were not reported and hushed up cases of causing of serious bodily injuries to beneficiaries.

“I discussed with each beneficiary apart, including those confined to bed. When I approached them and tried to caress them, they had a reaction of self-defense and fear. These are signs of physical abuse. Some of the beneficiaries said that their access to gyms and classrooms and to recreational halls is limited. They can go to these places only when an official delegation comes,” said the deputy minister.

Inspections were carried out after media disseminated images of children from this institution who were evidently abused physically, while a boy had a part of his penis torn off as one of the nurses was inattentive when she changed his diaper. “We made effort to find out information about the child who was mutilated. He cannot express himself, but there were signs that he suffered. The mutilated place cicatrized already. The administration could not explain why this case hadn’t been reported. We identified multiple cases of access limitation in this institution, including for mass media,” stated Boris Gilca.

The deputy minister also said that the institution, even if it is a neurological one, does not have a neurologist and only 0.5 of the 4.5 personnel positions are filled. There is only a pediatrician who works on a salary of 0.5 and a psychologist who works on a salary of 0.25. The commission recommended an advanced psychological and professional assessment of the beneficiaries of this institution. The assessment is set to start this week and will involve a number of NGOs working in the field.