519 infant dumping cases recorded since 2009

PETALING JAYA: A total of 519 babies were abandoned in dumpsites, bushes and public toilets between 2009 and April this year. In the most recent cases, 19 babies were abandoned in 2021, 46 in 2022 and 14 so far this year.

OrphanCare Foundation, which started operations in 2008, runs three baby hatches, which are places where people can take newborns and leave them anonymously in a safe receptacle to be cared for.

Its advocacy and communications manager Riza Alwi told theSun: “We operate our baby hatches in Petaling Jaya, Johor Bahru and Sungai Petani as it’s better this way than to have unwanted babies dumped in unsafe places.

“OrphanCare also collaborates with the Pakar An-Nur Hospital in Bangi and KPJ hospitals, which also runs three baby hatches in the country.

“Our hatches follow a German system and are air-conditioned, safe and have 24-hour CCTV monitoring inside the unit, which also automatically notifies a caretaker when a baby is left there. The camera does not identify the (person dropping off the infant).”

Riza said the foundation also helps women with unplanned pregnancies.

“We don’t judge or blame them. The sad part is that some of the women were raped and not even aware they were pregnant.”

She said some of the women ignore the signs of pregnancy and once they were seven to eight months along, panic strikes and only then would they go to a clinic and have their pregnancy confirmed by a doctor.

“Placing a baby at a baby hatch is not a crime. But dumping one in unsafe places can be classified as murder or attempted murder and subject to investigations under Section 302 of
the Penal Code.

“Newborns are defined as those less than three weeks old. They are usually left at a baby hatch covered with cloth and placed in a box or bag. Some of the babies even have their umbilical cords still attached,” she said.

Riza added that some babies were not even fed after they were born but were directly dropped off at the hatch, after the mothers gave birth alone at home, a friend’s place or even in public toilets.

“We do not want these women to be classified as killers, so we do everything to keep them and their babies safe.”

She also said ignorance and lack of awareness about sex education were among the main causes of baby dumping, adding that it usually involved teenagers impregnated by a relative.

“There was one case in which a girl came to us after giving birth alone at 5.30am. She had been raped by her supervisor and tried to flush the baby down a toilet. But it got stuck, so she brought it to us.

“The baby has since been adopted. But it was a traumatic journey for both the mother and baby. This is where we play our part to keep both mother and child safe.

“OrphanCare is not an adoption agency but a place to save babies regardless of how a woman got pregnant. Ensuring the baby’s and mother’s safety is essential, although the subject is still taboo in Malaysia,” she said.

Meanwhile, Federation of Reproductive Health Association chairman Dr Kamal Kenny said the biggest challenge in addressing baby dumping issues is that institutions have largely focused on the elements of remedial mechanisms and failed to look beyond the importance of preventive measures.

“The issue should be discussed at length and not be swept under the carpet due to its sensitivity. When there is greater awareness of the subject matter, the likelihood of baby dumping would be lowered,” he said.

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