KUCHING: The identity of mothers who leave their newborns in baby hatches will always remain unknown or confidential.
In addition, they should not be worried about facing any legal action as it is not a crime to leave their newborns at the facility.
Thus, it is not necessary for them to come forward.
Women, Childhood, and Community Well-being Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said placing their unwanted child at the facility is not a crime, however, leaving newborns by the roadside, rubbish bin, among others – is a crime.
For such cases, she said, the mother or suspect will be arrested, investigated and charged.
However, she said, in a recent case where a newborn girl was found at the baby hatch facility of Borneo Medical Centre (BMC), she had personally made a plea to the mother, urging her to come forward to facilitate the child’s citizenship registration process.
Without background information such as the names of the biological parents, she said, her ministry could not register the child as a citizen at the National Registration Department, thus, citizenship status will be classified as ‘not determined’ or stateless.
“So, I took the risk the other day and urged the mother to come forward to assist the registration process. Although it is not necessary for her to do so, I am glad that she did. She came directly to me and I assured that her identify will not be disclosed,” she said.
Fatimah said baby hatches provide a safe choice for desperate mothers who have unwanted newborns, as abandoning a baby elsewhere poses risks that would endanger the baby’s life, which is also a crime.
“For cases like this, it usually involves young unwed women or teenagers and since it already happened (baby is born), what we need to do is to save the baby while allowing the mother to move on. Thus, a baby hatch is the place (to leave their children),” she added.
She went on to explain that the hospital staff will be alerted by an alarm once a baby was placed in the facility for 60 seconds. Then, they will take the child before lodging a police report and inform the Social Welfare Department (JKM)
The child will then be sent to a general hospital for observation and monitoring while JKM needs to obtain a court order to become temporary guardian for the child.
Then, JKM needs to register the child at the National Registration Department where the date of birth would be on the date the baby was left at the facility.
