The Star Online. News. Nation. Wednesday August 29, 2007
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A newborn, wrapped in a sarong, was found abandoned in the Seberang Jaya Hospital compound near here.
Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Anil Shah Abdullah said a security guard on his routine check early Monday morning spotted the baby boy.
“The guard found the baby on a concrete table at about 4.15am and went looking for the mother at about 4.55am,” he said.
ACP Mohd Anil Shah said that after failing to find the parent, the security guard informed the police at about 7.55am.
He said the baby was healthy. The boy, who was kept for observation at the hospital, will be handed over to the welfare department soon.
ACP Mohd Anil Shah urged the public with information on the baby to call the district police acting CID chief Asst Supt S. Subra-maniam at 019-6351119 or the nearest police station.
Showing posts with label abandonment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abandonment. Show all posts
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Thursday, 26 July 2007
2007 07: Baby abandoned in cardboard box
The Star Online. News. Nation. Sunday July 22, 2007
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A newborn baby girl was found alive in a cardboard box left on a car boot in Persiaran Jenahak Dua, Taman Tun Hussein Onn, in Seberang Jaya near here.
Central Seberang Prai district police chief Asst Comm Mohd Anil Shah Abdullah said police rushed to the scene after receiving a call at 7.45am yesterday.
He said the baby, believed to be a day old, was found by a resident.
“After hearing cries of the baby outside his house, the man went out and, to his surprise, found a baby crying inside a cardboard box. He called the police,” ACP Mohd Anil Shah said.
He said the baby, which was wrapped in a piece of cloth, was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for observation.
ACP Mohd Anil Shah urged those with information on the baby to contact Insp Lina Tun at the district police headquarters at 04-5382222 or the nearest police station.
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A newborn baby girl was found alive in a cardboard box left on a car boot in Persiaran Jenahak Dua, Taman Tun Hussein Onn, in Seberang Jaya near here.
Central Seberang Prai district police chief Asst Comm Mohd Anil Shah Abdullah said police rushed to the scene after receiving a call at 7.45am yesterday.
He said the baby, believed to be a day old, was found by a resident.
“After hearing cries of the baby outside his house, the man went out and, to his surprise, found a baby crying inside a cardboard box. He called the police,” ACP Mohd Anil Shah said.
He said the baby, which was wrapped in a piece of cloth, was sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for observation.
ACP Mohd Anil Shah urged those with information on the baby to contact Insp Lina Tun at the district police headquarters at 04-5382222 or the nearest police station.
Friday, 6 July 2007
2007 07: ‘Talk to kids about sex and morals’
NST online. Local News. 5/7/07
KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs:
One baby is abandoned every 10 days in the Klang Valley, mostly by unwed teenagers.
"The Welfare Department recorded 315 cases from 2001 to 2004, and police statistics show about 100 a year," said National Population and Family Development Board consultant Dr Ang Eng Suan.
"Unwanted pregnancies can be managed with education and support from the family and partners." She said parents must talk to their children about sex to safeguard them from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Encouraging abstinence is important, but children need information about sex and its consequences to make that choice.
Ang said she felt it was necessary to discuss not just sex and contraception with her 20-something daughters but morals as well. "I conducted a focus group once involving unwed teenage mothers. I asked a participant whether her mother had talked to her about sex, and she said, ‘of course, she told me to jaga (be careful)’," said Dr Ang. "And when I asked her why she did it, she said ‘seronok’ (fun)."
Dr Ang was presenting a paper at the National Population Conference 2007.
The three-day conference, which ends today, was organised by the National Population and Family Development Board.
KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs:
One baby is abandoned every 10 days in the Klang Valley, mostly by unwed teenagers.
"The Welfare Department recorded 315 cases from 2001 to 2004, and police statistics show about 100 a year," said National Population and Family Development Board consultant Dr Ang Eng Suan.
"Unwanted pregnancies can be managed with education and support from the family and partners." She said parents must talk to their children about sex to safeguard them from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Encouraging abstinence is important, but children need information about sex and its consequences to make that choice.
Ang said she felt it was necessary to discuss not just sex and contraception with her 20-something daughters but morals as well. "I conducted a focus group once involving unwed teenage mothers. I asked a participant whether her mother had talked to her about sex, and she said, ‘of course, she told me to jaga (be careful)’," said Dr Ang. "And when I asked her why she did it, she said ‘seronok’ (fun)."
Dr Ang was presenting a paper at the National Population Conference 2007.
The three-day conference, which ends today, was organised by the National Population and Family Development Board.
Thursday, 5 July 2007
2007 07: Baby crying for missing mum
The Star online. Metro. North. Wednesday July 4, 2007
By TAN SIN CHOW
ELEVEN-Month-old Yap Gim Guan has been crying for his mother who left home two months ago.
His father Beng Jin, 36, said Gim Guan, now under the care of a grandaunt, misses his mother tremendously.
Beng Jin, a paint salesman, appealed to his Thai wife Monthita Seamao, 26, to return home, saying that any problem could be sorted out and resolved amicably.
“Gim Guan and I need and miss you. Please come home,” he said during a press conference yesterday with Gim Guan at his side clutching tightly to his mother’s photograph.
Beng Jin said Monthita, also known as Xiao Ling, was two months pregnant when she left for Thailand on May 10 to get her passport stamped.
He did not think anything was amiss as she used to make monthly trips to see her family in Chieng Rai, Thailand.
However, when Monthita failed to return home after a week, Beng Jin tried to trace her whereabouts and upon checking with the immigration authorities, found that she was back in Malaysia on May 20.
He lodged a missing person’s report on May 28.
Beng Jin believes his wife is still in the country, adding that her friend told him Monthita could be working in a lounge in Bukit Mertajam.
“Monthita called me at about 7am this morning, crying and telling me it was not time to return home.
“I tried to coax her to return but she kept quiet. I believe she is facing some problems or worse, she could have been influenced by some friends.”
Beng Jin said he was shocked to find Monthita leaving home as they did not quarrel.
“However, Monthita told me several times that she wanted to work outside,” he said.
Beng Jin and Monthita have been married for two years. Monthita was previously working as a kotai (street stage) singer but quit to be a full-time housewife after giving birth to Gim Guan.
Those with details of Monthita can contact the state Gerakan service bureau 04-2292724 which held the press conference to highlight the Yaps’ plight.
By TAN SIN CHOW
ELEVEN-Month-old Yap Gim Guan has been crying for his mother who left home two months ago.
His father Beng Jin, 36, said Gim Guan, now under the care of a grandaunt, misses his mother tremendously.
Beng Jin, a paint salesman, appealed to his Thai wife Monthita Seamao, 26, to return home, saying that any problem could be sorted out and resolved amicably.
“Gim Guan and I need and miss you. Please come home,” he said during a press conference yesterday with Gim Guan at his side clutching tightly to his mother’s photograph.
Beng Jin said Monthita, also known as Xiao Ling, was two months pregnant when she left for Thailand on May 10 to get her passport stamped.
He did not think anything was amiss as she used to make monthly trips to see her family in Chieng Rai, Thailand.
However, when Monthita failed to return home after a week, Beng Jin tried to trace her whereabouts and upon checking with the immigration authorities, found that she was back in Malaysia on May 20.
He lodged a missing person’s report on May 28.
Beng Jin believes his wife is still in the country, adding that her friend told him Monthita could be working in a lounge in Bukit Mertajam.
“Monthita called me at about 7am this morning, crying and telling me it was not time to return home.
“I tried to coax her to return but she kept quiet. I believe she is facing some problems or worse, she could have been influenced by some friends.”
Beng Jin said he was shocked to find Monthita leaving home as they did not quarrel.
“However, Monthita told me several times that she wanted to work outside,” he said.
Beng Jin and Monthita have been married for two years. Monthita was previously working as a kotai (street stage) singer but quit to be a full-time housewife after giving birth to Gim Guan.
Those with details of Monthita can contact the state Gerakan service bureau 04-2292724 which held the press conference to highlight the Yaps’ plight.
Monday, 11 June 2007
2007 06: Spotlight: NOBODY’S CHILD...
NST online. Frontpage. 9/06/07
K.S. USHA DEVI
Despite numerous social safety nets, babies are still being abandoned regularly.Better sex education and advice for the young may be the best way to save babies from being dumped, writes K. S. USHA DEVI
DRESSED in a green T-shirt and short pants, the toddler hugs his brown teddy bear and gurgles.
One-year-old Alif Firdaus Abdullah looks happy and comfortable in his playpen at the Pernim orphanage in Cheras.
He is a long way from the ordeal that marked the start of his innocent life: Alif was abandoned by his unwed mother at a hospital in Kelantan.
But two months later, Norlina Alawi, who runs the Nurul Iman Welfare Society/Foundation for Children of People Living with HIV/AIDS (Pernim), took Alif in. She also takes care of two other abandoned babies, Darus Aiman and Mohd Aiman Abdullah and three dozen other children.
"Their mothers could not take care of them, so I brought them home when they were a few months old," said Norlina, who turned her home into an orphanage.
Alif is fortunate. In many instances, abandoned babies die because their mothers, mostly under-aged, unwed or unable to take care of them, cast them aside.
These babies are left in waste dumps, rivers, bushes, drains and public toilets, among other places.
Although there are many helping hands to provide for unwed mothers, they still abandon their babies because of the social stigma and legal implications attached to a baby born out of wedlock.
They are afraid of bringing shame to their families, of being ostracised by fellow students or friends, or losing their marital prospects, especially if they are from conservative families.
Under the Child Act 2001, the mother could also be jailed up to 10 years and/or fined up to RM20,000. (Currently, men escape responsibility for fathering children out of wedlock because the law does not require them to give their DNA sample to prove paternity).
But help is available for unwed mothers to deal with their pregnancy, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. And a shelter home can be provided for both mother and baby by the Welfare Department.
Shahrizat said: "We are there for them. They need to call the nearest welfare office to seek help."Drop-in baby hatches for abandoned babies, a solution in European countries, are not an option considered by the government at the moment, said Shahrizat, because it might be seen as sending the wrong signal to young people.
Former assistant director of the Social Welfare Department Vijayakumari Pillai agreed that it might encourage young women, especially teenagers, to treat sexual encounters lightly and not bother about precautions.
Drop-in hatches for babies in hospitals, schools or office buildings are used in European countries to keep abandoned babies safe from danger and assist the mother in finding an adoptive home or orphanage.
The baby hatch is usually a small structure equipped with a heated cot. As soon as the woman leaves the child in the cot, without being seen, an alarm goes off so that a medical practitioner or a social worker can care for the baby.
While Malaysia has no baby hatches or shelters, advocacy programmes on family planning and reproductive health at grassroots levels are run by the Welfare Department through its agency, the National Population and Family Development Board and non-government organisations.
Since 1992, the department has also had child protection teams at district level to monitor, advise and counsel families on reproductive health and issues, said Social Welfare Department director-general Rafek Reshidullah.
"The latest advocacy programme, Parenting @Work, early this year was aimed at educating parents about balancing their responsibilities between work and family.
"This is to ensure that their children will not be left unattended, and get involved with social ills." Some of these abandoned little ones are also placed under the care of individuals such as Alif’s caretaker, Norlina, who runs a welfare entity registered under the department.
Another solution to discourage young pregnant women from abandoning their babies is for them to take refuge in shelter homes until the baby is born.The department has five of these safe havens, called Taman Seri Putri, in the country. These places shelter teenage mothers below the age of 18. (Unwed mothers over 18 are taken in by NGOs).
Besides undergoing counselling for adoption (if needed) and fostering to help them deal with their predicament, the young women are taught living skills such as tailoring, basic accounts and computer courses over their two- to three-year stay there.
However, shelter homes such as these are shrouded under a cloak of secrecy."Shelter homes or safe havens for young women are still not publicly known," said Maria Chin Abdullah, executive director of Women’s Development Collective, an NGO promoting full participation of women in Malaysian society.
"But since baby hatches are not considered feasible, the state should take the responsibility to have more shelter homes for these young pregnant women."
Although there are positive efforts, babies still continue to be dumped. Statistics from Bukit Aman revealed 320 reported cases of abandoned babies from 2003 to last year. The highest number for all four years was in Selangor.
Newborns form the highest num- ber of abandoned babies, with a total of 79 reported cases last year.
"This is because many young women believe that pregnancy will not happen to them. When it does and they don’t know where to turn to, they abandon the baby," said Vijayakumari, who has 22 years of experience in the department.
Both Vijayakumari and Chin urged the government to focus on sex education and guidance for the young and provide appropriate services for reproductive health so that teenage pregnancies could be reduced.
Meanwhile the Federation of Family Planning Associations (FFPAM) has run peer-to peer programmes for young people on adolescent sexual and reproductive health for many years.
This includes learning about safe sex, use of contraceptives and abortion, among others. "With sex education, 10 years down the road, the problem of abandoned babies could be reduced," Chin said.
K.S. USHA DEVI
Despite numerous social safety nets, babies are still being abandoned regularly.Better sex education and advice for the young may be the best way to save babies from being dumped, writes K. S. USHA DEVI
DRESSED in a green T-shirt and short pants, the toddler hugs his brown teddy bear and gurgles.
One-year-old Alif Firdaus Abdullah looks happy and comfortable in his playpen at the Pernim orphanage in Cheras.
He is a long way from the ordeal that marked the start of his innocent life: Alif was abandoned by his unwed mother at a hospital in Kelantan.
But two months later, Norlina Alawi, who runs the Nurul Iman Welfare Society/Foundation for Children of People Living with HIV/AIDS (Pernim), took Alif in. She also takes care of two other abandoned babies, Darus Aiman and Mohd Aiman Abdullah and three dozen other children.
"Their mothers could not take care of them, so I brought them home when they were a few months old," said Norlina, who turned her home into an orphanage.
Alif is fortunate. In many instances, abandoned babies die because their mothers, mostly under-aged, unwed or unable to take care of them, cast them aside.
These babies are left in waste dumps, rivers, bushes, drains and public toilets, among other places.
Although there are many helping hands to provide for unwed mothers, they still abandon their babies because of the social stigma and legal implications attached to a baby born out of wedlock.
They are afraid of bringing shame to their families, of being ostracised by fellow students or friends, or losing their marital prospects, especially if they are from conservative families.
Under the Child Act 2001, the mother could also be jailed up to 10 years and/or fined up to RM20,000. (Currently, men escape responsibility for fathering children out of wedlock because the law does not require them to give their DNA sample to prove paternity).
But help is available for unwed mothers to deal with their pregnancy, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. And a shelter home can be provided for both mother and baby by the Welfare Department.
Shahrizat said: "We are there for them. They need to call the nearest welfare office to seek help."Drop-in baby hatches for abandoned babies, a solution in European countries, are not an option considered by the government at the moment, said Shahrizat, because it might be seen as sending the wrong signal to young people.
Former assistant director of the Social Welfare Department Vijayakumari Pillai agreed that it might encourage young women, especially teenagers, to treat sexual encounters lightly and not bother about precautions.
Drop-in hatches for babies in hospitals, schools or office buildings are used in European countries to keep abandoned babies safe from danger and assist the mother in finding an adoptive home or orphanage.
The baby hatch is usually a small structure equipped with a heated cot. As soon as the woman leaves the child in the cot, without being seen, an alarm goes off so that a medical practitioner or a social worker can care for the baby.
While Malaysia has no baby hatches or shelters, advocacy programmes on family planning and reproductive health at grassroots levels are run by the Welfare Department through its agency, the National Population and Family Development Board and non-government organisations.
Since 1992, the department has also had child protection teams at district level to monitor, advise and counsel families on reproductive health and issues, said Social Welfare Department director-general Rafek Reshidullah.
"The latest advocacy programme, Parenting @Work, early this year was aimed at educating parents about balancing their responsibilities between work and family.
"This is to ensure that their children will not be left unattended, and get involved with social ills." Some of these abandoned little ones are also placed under the care of individuals such as Alif’s caretaker, Norlina, who runs a welfare entity registered under the department.
Another solution to discourage young pregnant women from abandoning their babies is for them to take refuge in shelter homes until the baby is born.The department has five of these safe havens, called Taman Seri Putri, in the country. These places shelter teenage mothers below the age of 18. (Unwed mothers over 18 are taken in by NGOs).
Besides undergoing counselling for adoption (if needed) and fostering to help them deal with their predicament, the young women are taught living skills such as tailoring, basic accounts and computer courses over their two- to three-year stay there.
However, shelter homes such as these are shrouded under a cloak of secrecy."Shelter homes or safe havens for young women are still not publicly known," said Maria Chin Abdullah, executive director of Women’s Development Collective, an NGO promoting full participation of women in Malaysian society.
"But since baby hatches are not considered feasible, the state should take the responsibility to have more shelter homes for these young pregnant women."
Although there are positive efforts, babies still continue to be dumped. Statistics from Bukit Aman revealed 320 reported cases of abandoned babies from 2003 to last year. The highest number for all four years was in Selangor.
Newborns form the highest num- ber of abandoned babies, with a total of 79 reported cases last year.
"This is because many young women believe that pregnancy will not happen to them. When it does and they don’t know where to turn to, they abandon the baby," said Vijayakumari, who has 22 years of experience in the department.
Both Vijayakumari and Chin urged the government to focus on sex education and guidance for the young and provide appropriate services for reproductive health so that teenage pregnancies could be reduced.
Meanwhile the Federation of Family Planning Associations (FFPAM) has run peer-to peer programmes for young people on adolescent sexual and reproductive health for many years.
This includes learning about safe sex, use of contraceptives and abortion, among others. "With sex education, 10 years down the road, the problem of abandoned babies could be reduced," Chin said.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
2007 06: Dead newborn found in bin, Indonesian maid held
The Star online. News. Nation Monday June 4, 2007.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested an Indonesian maid believed to have dumped the body of a newborn baby in a rubbish bin outside her employer’s house in Taman Wahyu here.
The maid, in her early 20s, was picked up by police yesterday after her employer found the body and lodged a report at the Jinjang police station at about 10am.
It was learnt that the baby was born alive to the maid last Saturday evening and that the woman had kept the birth a secret from her employer and his wife.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm K. Kumaran said a police team recovered the body of the baby which was wrapped in a white cloth and placed in a garbage bag.
The body was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a post-mortem.
ACP Kumaran said initial investigations showed that only the employer’s other maid, who shared a room with the suspect, knew about the birth.
The roommate informed the employer at about 7am yesterday after the baby was found missing.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested an Indonesian maid believed to have dumped the body of a newborn baby in a rubbish bin outside her employer’s house in Taman Wahyu here.
The maid, in her early 20s, was picked up by police yesterday after her employer found the body and lodged a report at the Jinjang police station at about 10am.
It was learnt that the baby was born alive to the maid last Saturday evening and that the woman had kept the birth a secret from her employer and his wife.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm K. Kumaran said a police team recovered the body of the baby which was wrapped in a white cloth and placed in a garbage bag.
The body was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a post-mortem.
ACP Kumaran said initial investigations showed that only the employer’s other maid, who shared a room with the suspect, knew about the birth.
The roommate informed the employer at about 7am yesterday after the baby was found missing.
Monday, 14 May 2007
2007 05: Baby abandoned outside tuition centre
The Star online. News. Nation. Saturday May 12, 2007
ALOR STAR: A teacher was shocked to find a baby boy abandoned outside her tuition centre at Taman Tunku Hosna in Jalan Bendahara here.
Annalia Mohd Nasir said she received a call in her cell phone yesterday about the baby at 3.27pm.
“The caller mumbled something about a baby. I thought it was a prank call. But when I opened the front door of the tuition centre 13 minutes later for the 4pm class, I saw the baby lying on the floor outside the front gate,” she said here yesterday.
The baby was dressed in orange and weighed about 3kg .
“A napkin was placed beside the baby. There was also a bag containing a milk bottle, pampers, and a pacifier,” said Annalia, who is her 30s.
She said the caller knew that the tuition centre would be open today.
“He even knew my handphone number,” added Annalia, who runs the tuition centre with her husband Muhammad Irfan Yahaya.
The couple married four years ago and they do not have any children yet.
The baby was taken to the Alor Star Hospital for a medical check-up.“
.............................................
In a separate incident, a 34-year-old teacher was caught kissing his 16-year-old female student in a car at Guar Arang quarry in Changlung on Wednesday.
Kubang Pasu OCPD Mohd Karim Abu said they would be charged in the syariah court soon.
“Following a tip-off, we accompanied a team of religious enforcement personnel and found the teacher and the student smooching inside a car at 4.50pm.
“We have handed over the couple to the religious authorities for further action,” he said, adding that they had been released on bail by the religious department.
Supt Karim said the teacher was married with four children.
ALOR STAR: A teacher was shocked to find a baby boy abandoned outside her tuition centre at Taman Tunku Hosna in Jalan Bendahara here.
Annalia Mohd Nasir said she received a call in her cell phone yesterday about the baby at 3.27pm.
“The caller mumbled something about a baby. I thought it was a prank call. But when I opened the front door of the tuition centre 13 minutes later for the 4pm class, I saw the baby lying on the floor outside the front gate,” she said here yesterday.
The baby was dressed in orange and weighed about 3kg .
“A napkin was placed beside the baby. There was also a bag containing a milk bottle, pampers, and a pacifier,” said Annalia, who is her 30s.
She said the caller knew that the tuition centre would be open today.
“He even knew my handphone number,” added Annalia, who runs the tuition centre with her husband Muhammad Irfan Yahaya.
The couple married four years ago and they do not have any children yet.
The baby was taken to the Alor Star Hospital for a medical check-up.“
.............................................
In a separate incident, a 34-year-old teacher was caught kissing his 16-year-old female student in a car at Guar Arang quarry in Changlung on Wednesday.
Kubang Pasu OCPD Mohd Karim Abu said they would be charged in the syariah court soon.
“Following a tip-off, we accompanied a team of religious enforcement personnel and found the teacher and the student smooching inside a car at 4.50pm.
“We have handed over the couple to the religious authorities for further action,” he said, adding that they had been released on bail by the religious department.
Supt Karim said the teacher was married with four children.
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
2007 05: Shocking find for shoppers at hypermarket
The Star online. News. Nation. Friday May 4, 2007
JOHOR BARU: The cries of a baby drew shoppers at a hypermarket here to a trolley, where a newborn girl was found wrapped in a light yellow headscarf.
The infant’s umbilical cord was still attached, said Giant Plentong complex manager Loh Kok Chai, relating the incident that happened on Monday.
He said the baby was spotted at around 8.30pm, adding that the management immediately called the police on being informed about the matter.
Loh said one of the shoppers rushed back into the shopping centre to buy some clothes and milk for the infant before the baby girl was handed over to the police.
Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Shafie Ismail confirmed the case, adding that the baby was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where she was warded overnight for observation.
She has since been handed over to the Welfare department.
“The baby was about a day old when found. She is in healthy condition,” said ACP Shafie.
The case is being investigated as abandoning a child under 12 years.
Those with information of the case are asked to contact the police station at 07 223 2222.
JOHOR BARU: The cries of a baby drew shoppers at a hypermarket here to a trolley, where a newborn girl was found wrapped in a light yellow headscarf.
The infant’s umbilical cord was still attached, said Giant Plentong complex manager Loh Kok Chai, relating the incident that happened on Monday.
He said the baby was spotted at around 8.30pm, adding that the management immediately called the police on being informed about the matter.
Loh said one of the shoppers rushed back into the shopping centre to buy some clothes and milk for the infant before the baby girl was handed over to the police.
Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Shafie Ismail confirmed the case, adding that the baby was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where she was warded overnight for observation.
She has since been handed over to the Welfare department.
“The baby was about a day old when found. She is in healthy condition,” said ACP Shafie.
The case is being investigated as abandoning a child under 12 years.
Those with information of the case are asked to contact the police station at 07 223 2222.
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