The centre, however, asked the department for a delay because it was still locating the families of 17 mentally-disabled patients.
“Forcing the patients to a new unfamiliar place and surroundings would be very stressful to them. It would be best if they were taken care of by their families,” said a worker at the centre, who declined to be identified, yesterday.
It was learnt that the notice of closure was issued on Tuesday following Goh’s death on Sunday and the centre was also not registered with the Welfare Department.
The worker said two patients had already returned to their families, who picked them up on Wednesday.
A 26-year-old man, a foreigner, was picked up at Section 3 here on Tuesday and police obtained a seven-day remand for him.
It was later revealed that the man, who was also a caretaker at the centre, did not possess a work permit.
Goh, who was sent to the home in May, had cerebral palsy and autism.
On Sunday, his family received a telephone call from the centre, informing them that he was having breathing difficulties. The family took him to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A post-mortem revealed that he had a ruptured spleen and severe injuries to his anus.
Doctors also found severe internal injuries and bruises on the teen. Police recovered a metal rod from the centre, which could have been used to abuse him.
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