Hundreds want to adobt abandoned babies

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of people expressed their willingness yesterday to adopt seven babies abandoned by their parents at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Central Jakarta.

The hospital's public relations officer, Tini, said she received dozens of phone calls from people interested in adopting the babies. "The phone has been ringing since morning with couples asking about the babies," she said.

Dozens of people also visited her office asking the same thing.

However, Tini refused to give the babies away and said two foundations, Tiara Putra and Sayap Ibu, would take care of the babies.

"If you want to adopt the babies, wait until the foundations take the babies. You can ask the foundations for the babies later," she told callers and visitors.

The babies were in the hospital's maternity room. The hospital hung a sign on the room's door which said only the babies' parents could enter, according to yesterday's Pos Kota daily.

Another hospital spokesperson, Erna Zein, said the sign was meant to protect the babies from people who wanted to see and adopt them.

Erna said the babies were in good health since being abandoned.

She said parents abandoned babies for many reasons. "Some of them abandon their babies probably because they don't have money to pay the hospital bill," she said.

She said the hospital was very lenient to parents if they had a letter from a subdistrict office stating they were poor.

Some babies were abandoned because they were born of illicit relationships.

"Their parents are welcome. The hospital has contacted them but got no response," she said.

Some of the addressees were fake which means the parents planned to discard their babies, she said.

The seven babies are: 1. A baby boy, born on May 3, 1996, of Suyatini and Bambang Subagio. The couple claimed to live on Jl. Kebon Kosong, Central Jakarta. 2. A baby girl of Herlida and M. Rum who said they lived on Jl. Cempaka Putih Utara, in Central Jakarta. She was born on June 3, 1996. 3. A baby girl of Rossy and Nazaruddin who claimed to live on Jl. Tebet Barat Dalam, South Jakarta. She was born on June 24, 1996. 4. A baby girl of Umiyatun and Suparno who said they lived on Jl. Pademangan Barat, North Jakarta. She was born on July 11, 1996. 5. A baby boy of Yayah and Parmo who claimed to live on Jl. Karang Anyar, Sawah Besar district, in Central Jakarta. He was born on Sept. 2 1996. 6. A baby girl of Yanti and Jono, who claimed to live on Jl. Thalib, in Pemalang, Central Java. She was born five weeks ago. 7. A baby boy of Erlinawati and Asnifah who said they lived in Bojong Gede village, Bogor, West Java. He was born two weeks ago. (jun)