697 baby dumping cases recorded from 2010 to 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Based on police data, 697 cases of baby dumping was recorded from 2010 to 2016.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim (pix) (Batang Lupar-BN) said of that figure, Selangor recorded the highest number with 157 cases.
She said 84 cases were recorded in Sabah and Johor respectively, Kuala Lumpur (65) and Sarawak (49).
Rohani said this in reply to Teo Nie Ching (Kulai-DAP) who asked for the statistics of baby dumping cases since 2010.
Teo also wanted to know how the government handles the issue of citizenship for these babies.
Rohani said the ministry would assist in registering the birth of the babies before applying for their citizenship.
“All of the babies will have no documents with them. One popular suggestion made to us was to trace their parents, but these are abandoned babies. We tried that effort, we put the children’s pictures in the courts, and urged the parents to come forward, but the result is zero.
“We will get all of the babies in our institutions a birth certificate first and then only we will try to pursue their citizenship where we will forward the application to the Home Ministry through the National Registration Department,” she said.
Rohani said the ministry also encourages the process of applying for citizenship through adoption.
She said Article 15(a) of the Federal Constitution allows the registration of citizenship under special circumstances.