KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) on Tuesday issued a statement advising parents and guardians that under the Child Care & Protection Act, they may be liable for leaving children unsupervised.

The OCR’s statement comes in the wake of two children being found dead, with drowning suspected.

It was reported on Monday that two children were suspected to have drowned in separate incidents between Sunday and Monday morning. They are one-year-old Romerio Dixon of Compound district, Alligator Pond, Manchester, and Daniel Brown, 13, of Portmore Villa, Phase 2, Gregory Park in St Catherine.

The OCR said it noted with “concern the accounts in the media yesterday of the death of two children who are suspected to have drowned. We are also deeply concerned that in both cases which resulted in the death of the children… there appears to have been inadequate adult supervision”.

The OCR advises that “Under Section 9 of the Child Care & Protection Act, any adult having the custody, charge or care of any child, who allows that child to be in any room or yard containing any body of water, whether naturally or artificially formed or stored in a container… not sufficiently protected to guard against the risk of that child being drowned… and by reason thereof that child is killed or suffers serious injury may be charged up to $1.5 million or face up to five years of imprisonment or both.”

In the statement, the OCR also encouraged parents and guardians to ensure that children receive adequate adult supervision during the holiday season noting that during the Christmas period, “many people will be out shopping, celebrating and indulging in other activities that will demand a lot of time”.