Woman faces police probe for killing unborn baby

Woman faces police probe for killing unborn baby

JAKARTA (JP): In an attempt to hide her unwanted pregnancy, a
single woman killed her soon-to-be-born baby by cutting off its
left leg, which emerged from her vital organ as she was urinating
early on Saturday, her uncle said.

Sarjono said that he was not aware that his 28-year-old niece,
Fatimah, who lives with his family in Srengseng Kembangan
subdistrict, West Jakarta, was pregnant until the incident
happened.

"I knew Fatimah had a boyfriend but I did not expect her to
have made love with him," he said, adding that he had raised
Fatimah since her parents died when she was just 12 years old.

He said Fatimah woke up at about 2 a.m. and went to the
bathroom to urinate.

"When she squatted, Fatimah felt something emerge from her
womb. The emerging thing was in fact her own baby's leg," he
said.

Fatimah, who was afraid that people would know that she had a
baby before getting married, then took a pair of scissors and cut
the baby's leg off and threw it into the toilet bowl, he said.

"But then, Fatimah suddenly felt pain in her stomach and I
immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital," said Sarjono,
who was shocked after knowing of Fatimah's pregnancy.

He said Akmil Hospital then transferred her to Cipto
Mangunkusumo Hospital to undergo a surgical operation to let the
baby out.

Isrin, one of the doctors who performed the operation on
Fatimah, said that the young mother must be operated on because
the baby had died in her womb before she was rushed to the
hospital.

As of Saturday afternoon, Fatimah was still lying in her bed
at the emergency room while her dead baby was covered with a
striped blanket and laid on a table at RSCM morgue.

An officer at the morgue said the baby's corpse had been under
police supervision and the mother would be detained soon for
killing her own baby.

Separately, Kembangan Police chief Adj. Comr. Sutomo said on
Sunday that Fatimah was the only suspect in the case.

"Fatimah is a murder suspect. She is suffering from severe
trauma, so we have not questioned her as yet. We'll wait until
she gets a little better," Sutomo told The Jakarta Post on
Sunday.

As soon as Fatimah recovers, she will be transferred to the
National Police Kramat Jati Hospital, for questioning.

Fatimah would likely be charged with violating article 338 of
the Criminal Code on murder, which carries a maximum punishment
of 15-years imprisonment.

Sutomo said that the police had questioned two witnesses,
including Sarjono. The police plan to call forensic doctors as
witnesses and are currently searching for Fatimah's boyfriend.
(ylt/01)