S'gor records most abandoned babies — Rohani

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 697 cases of baby abandonment were recorded from 2010 to 2016, with Selangor having the most number of cases, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said according to statistics, five states had recorded the highest number of cases namely Selangor (157 cases), Sabah and Johor 84 cases each, Kuala Lumpur 65 cases and Sarawak 49 cases.

Rohani said 91 cases were recorded in 2010, 98 cases in 2011 but it dropped to 89 cases in 2012.

“However, the number of cases rose again in 2013 with 90 cases, 2014 (103 cases), 2015 (111 cases) and 2016 (115 cases), respectively,” she said in reply to Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Kulai) question on the number of baby abandonment cases since 2010.

Replying to a question from Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (PSM-Sungai Siput) on the number of babies left in the Baby Hatch for the period of 2010 to 2016, Rohani said as many as 35 babies were left in the facility.