Couple's search for lost baby ends at city morgue

JAKARTA (JP): A baby boy reported to have been missing from his parents' house in Bintaro, South Jakarta, since Monday, was found among unidentified bodies in the morgue at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) on Wednesday.

The baby's father, Supendi, 32, and his wife Hartini had given up their search for the missing eight-month-old baby, Maulana.

"I'm sad, but I feel sadder for my wife, who still can't believe that Maulana has passed away," he said.

Maulana was reportedly found floating in the Pesanggrahan river downstream from Supendi's house, which lies about one kilometer away from the river channel.

"There is no way my son could have walked that far because he could only crawl," Supendi, who works as an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, told reporters.

Maulana was breast fed by Hartini on Monday afternoon while her eldest son slept beside them, said Supendi, who was not at home when Maulana was first found to be missing.

The mother and baby then fell asleep. Hartini was later wakened by a sudden downpour and she then rushed outside to gather clothes which had been left outside to dry.

"When she returned, Maulana had gone. My wife started searching for him, thinking that he could only crawl and must therefore be somewhere in the house," he said.

News of the baby's disappearance soon spread among the neighbors on Jl. Mawar, where the couple lived.

Several neighbors offered to help with the search, and continued to comb the area until around midnight, Supendi said, adding that they had also searched along the river bank, but to no avail.

He later reported the disappearance at a nearby police subprecinct.

One day later, a relative who worked at the hospital contacted him to say that a baby boy had been brought into the morgue.

However, Supendi was reluctant to check and see if it was his son because he believed that Maulana was still alive and had at worst been kidnapped and sold.

"I kept looking for Maulana and asking people if they had seen my boy. I did that while I was working as well," he said.

Despairing at being unable to find his son, Supendi eventually decided to go to the morgue, where he found him.

An official at the morgue said the baby had been sent to the morgue by officers from Pesanggrahan police subprecinct on Tuesday afternoon. (emf)