(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Sharjah Police have launched a manhunt for the 15-month-old girl''s mother who allegedly abandoned the child at a friends house.
Sharjah - Maybe it is ironic that this report comes close on the heels of Mother’s Day — celebrated in the UAE on March 21 — but the Sharjah Police have launched a manhunt for an infant’s mother who allegedly abandoned the child at a friend’s house. Hot on the trail of the mother the police detained two women — including the woman who left the child at her relative’s house — both of whom as it emerged later were not the infant’s mother.
According to the police a 32-year-old Filipina contacted the child abuse helpline at 800-700 last week and informed them that a relative had left a 15-month-old baby girl at her house. The complainant said the woman disappeared after that and switched off her phone.
The Children Protection Department received the baby girl and lodged a complaint with the police.
The police launched a search operation and detained the woman who reported the child’s abandonment and also managed to trace and detain the woman who left the baby girl. Subsequent forensic investigations revealed that the woman who left her was not the baby’s mother. It was then that the woman told the police that her friend left the baby with her as she was born out of wedlock.
The police have now extended their manhunt to trace and arrest the baby’s biological parents.
Confirming the report Mohammed Mubarak director of the helpline told Khaleej Times: “We rushed to the place and received the child. We then informed the police so that the necessary procedures could be followed to find the parents.”
Infant in good health
The baby girl is in good health and is being provided with all necessary health and social care services in the Child Rights and Protection Centre affiliated to the Social Services Department. She will remain there until her parents are found.
Child abuse helpline
Talking of the helpline Mubarak said it works round the clock seven days a week for people of all nationalities to report cases of child abuse.
“The helpline is a confidential means of reporting incidents involving abuse of children in the emirate. Among the staff at the helpline are professional counsellors who through interpreters can provide assistance in two languages: Arabic and English. Assistance will be provided in more languages in the future” he said.
The Children Protection Department he said was the first of its kind in the region when it was set up in 2007. “The centre receives reports of child abuse from all emirates in the UAE.”
The centre receives calls from the public about child abuse and parents seeking crisis intervention. The helpline is also a valuable resource for those mandated by the law to report suspected abuse such as school personnel and medical and mental health professionals.
“The staff of the helpline include social workers and psychologists who cooperate with the police to investigate cases provide services to families and give shelter to children in danger.”
Mubarak explained that child abuse is defined by law as the “inappropriate treatment of a child under the age of 18 years by a parent caretaker someone living in their home or someone who works with or around children”.
“Abuse of a child is anything that causes injury or puts the child in danger of physical injury. Child abuse can be physical sexual and emotional or general neglect and happens when parents or a caretakers fail to provide adequate supervision food clothing shelter or other basic necessities to children they are responsible for” said Mubarak.