Dubai Police shut down illegal home daycare centre

Nine children of different Asian nationalities were found in one room.

An Asian couple was arrested for running an illegal daycare centre in their Dubai home, where nine children were found in one bedroom, police said.

“We received information that a woman and her husband were receiving a number of children of different ages in their home, which was not in line with the standards set for a daycare centre or licensed facility,” said Maj Shaheen Al Mazmi, director of the Child and Women Protection Department at Dubai Police. “We monitored the two-bedroom apartment in the Nayef area and saw children being dropped off in the mornings and picked up later in the day.”

He said police found children between the ages of two and six months when they raided the apartment, adding that the couple had a child as well.

Maj Al Mazmi said parents who sent their children to the illegal establishment were summoned for questioning and warned.

“The parents said they knew about the place from friends, and that they paid Dh200 to Dh500 per month, depending on how long they left their children in the home,” he said. “All the children and parents were of Asian nationalities.”

The couple admitted running an unlicensed daycare centre, and their case has been transferred to public prosecution.

Maj Al Mazmi said parents should always make sure their children are enrolled in proper and licensed daycare centres, adding that unlicensed centres might not be equipped to handle children in a healthy manner.