Proprietors of sheltered accommodation from where 17 elderly residents were evacuated Thursday have been arrested

All 17 were to varying degrees in need of specialist geriatric care. Care that was lacking at Beauprez and De Kloef. The East Flemish Federal Judicial Police says that the proprietors of the sheltered accommodation, a 49-year-old man and his 37-year-old wife, have been arrested and they will be questioned by an examining magistrate in Oudenaarde (East Flanders) today.  

When police visited De Kloef and Beazuprez on Thursday they discovered that some of the residents were unable to live independently. As the proprietors didn’t have the necessary licence to run a care home, the 17 elderly people that were unable to look after themselves were taken to a local hospital while alternative accommodation was sought. The East Flemish Federal Judicial Police apprehended the proprietors, and they were questioned. They will face further questioning by an examining magistrate today.

On Thursday officers from the Federal Judicial Police and the Local Police Service as well as officials from the Social Inspectorate visited De Kloef and Beauprez to see how the residents were being cared fore and whether the conditions of the centres’ licences as sheltered housing were being fulfilled.

An examining magistrate went to the scene as did a police surgeon and a psychiatrist. At Residence Beauprez (that recently changed its name to Cohousing Alegria) 15 elderly people were found that are unable to live independently. A further 2 such cases were found in De Kloef. Given their needs the 17 elderly people that were taken away. They require specialist geriatric care at a licenced facility.