Abandoned infant to be handed to Galle orphanage
Priyan de Silva Matara Sports Corespondent
The baby boy found abandoned in a shrub behind a guest house in
Matara on March 27 by the Matara Police was handed over to the Premature
Baby Unit of the General Hospital, Matara. The baby was a pathetic sight
severely bitten by ants and with maggots in its navel.
The mother of the infant, a 32 year old married woman of Deniyaya had
mistakenly dialled a telephone number from her mobile. The recipient, a
32 year old mason from Hamugewatta, Matara, a father of two kept on
calling the number from time to time cultivating an illicit affair with
the woman.
They had met frequently which resulted in the unwanted pregnancy.
The couple are said to have checked in to a guest house on the
evening of March 26, where the woman is said to have gone into labour
close to midnight.
The couple left the guesthouse in a hurry by three wheeler. The baby
is said to have been born in it just as they left the premises.
The parents threw the baby into a nearby shrub. The baby survived for
more than 17 hours without a drop of milk before being discovered.
The Police were able to trace and apprehend the culprit parents and
the three wheeler driver and all three are in remand custody now.
The baby almost six weeks old now and in good health except for the
scars left by the vicious ants will be handed over to a Children's Home
in Galle.
It is time that abortion laws in Sri Lanka be relaxed to some extent
to prevent incidents like this.
To be born into this world unwanted, hated and finally to be
abandoned by ones own mother is traumatic. |
