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)