Rights group wants RCI on baby snatching claims at Sabah hospital

Human rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) is calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the shocking revelations of infants of stateless mothers in a Sabah hospital being forcibly taken away and given up for adoption.

Its executive director, Zaid Malek, said the inquiry was crucial to prevent the possibility of a generation of stolen children in Sabah and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

“The termination of a mother’s parental rights should not be arbitrary, especially when based on vague allegations of neglect from the Welfare Department. 

“Proper adoption orders require the consent of the mother, making her role in the process crucial,” Zaid (above) said.

Last week, Malaysiakini published a report highlighting multiple cases where stateless women have lost or were threatened they would lose custody of their infants, who were treated at Lahad Datu Hospital.

Referring to one case in the report where the mother, Aimah, lost custody of her baby even though her infant was not ready to be discharged, Zaid expressed his disbelief stating that “it was preposterous”.

“The grounds for the termination of parental rights in the other cases cited in the Malaysiakini report are equally baseless. These acts were tantamount to child stealing. 

“The seemingly cruel and atrocious treatment that these mothers have endured is a direct result of statelessness and it illustrates the terrible consequences of depriving people of documentation and rendering them stateless. 

“There is nothing worse than depriving a mother of her newborn child,” he said.

Authorities cannot evade responsibility

The Sabah Health Department on Saturday lodged a police report denying allegations that babies were being snatched in the state’s public hospitals.

In a statement issued a day after the Malaysiakini report, its director, Dr Asits Sanna, said his department had immediately launched an investigation and found the allegation to be untrue as there were no such cases.

While the authorities have denied any wrongdoing, Zaid said there appeared to be a clear pattern established which contradicted their claims.

“It is particularly harrowing that the report includes a case of a mother committing murder-suicide because her child was threatened to be taken away. 

“The pain, fear, and desperation she underwent is unfathomable. Why was she driven to this? The authorities cannot shirk responsibility,” he said.

The severity of the reported incidents raised questions on the actual number of similar cases that occurred, especially considering the significant number of stateless individuals in Malaysia.

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