Garbage chute baby released from hospital

The boy has recovered from fractured skull and is well enough to be moved to Sharjah Social Care Centre, which looks after abandoned children in the emirate.

SHARJAH // A baby who suffered a fractured skull when he was thrown down a ninth-floor garbage chute an hour after he was born has been released from hospital.

Doctors at Al Qassimi Hospital, where the boy was treated for more than a month, said he had recovered enough to be moved to the Sharjah Child Care Center (SCCC), which looks after abandoned children in the emirate.

Dr Arif Al Noryani, chief executive of Al Qassimi Hospital, said the baby had been in a critical condition when admitted.

Staff in the neonatal intensive care unit treated him for about two weeks and when his condition had improved and stabilised, he was moved to the paediatric ward, said Dr Mona Abdullah Khalaf, a paediatric consultant handling the child's case.

By the time the baby was moved to the SCCC, she said, his condition had greatly improved.

An official from the SCCC confirmed that the boy was now in their care but declined to give any further details.

Children can stay at the centre until they are 18 years old. They are then given Emirati citizenship and documents, said Fatima Ali Al Marzouqi, director of the SCCC.

Youngsters at the centre can only be adopted by a family that meets strict requirements: they must be Emirati and have a financially stable home life, be free of diseases such as HIV/Aids and must submit a police report of good conduct.

The baby was found by a watchman in a rubbish bin at the Al Taawun building in the early hours of April 24.

The child's Filipina mother, who was working illegally as a maid for an Asian family in the building, was arrested soon after.

A police spokesman said the mother's case had been handed to Sharjah Public Prosecution.

She is being held by police and it is not clear when she will appear in court.