DNA test ordered for infant survivor of tsunami

KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka – A Sri Lankan court today ordered a DNA test to confirm the custody claim of “Baby 81,” the wide-eyed boy found alive among bodies and debris left by the Asian tsunami.

The drama surrounding the case increased after the court order, when a couple claiming to be the parents and dozens of their relatives and friends rushed the pediatric ward of hospital where the baby was staying.

Nine women initially claimed the child as their own, though one couple has emerged as the presumed parents of Baby 81, named for his status as the 81st admission to the hospital the day the tsunami struck.

“Thousands of babies have died and maybe hundreds of them are missing, so we cannot say that this couple are the parents of the baby in question. It’s only after a DNA test that we can be sure that we are correct,” said Judge M.P. Mohaideen, at the brief hearing.

Mohaideen gave the child to hospital care until tests are complete. The next hearing is set for April 20.

Murugupillai Jeyarajah and his wife, 25-year-old Jenita, had arrived at the court on a motorcycle, clutching tight a set of court documents and newspaper cuttings of the baby they say is their son named Abilass, born on Oct. 19.

“We could not sleep the whole night. We were talking about our baby,” Jenita said.

The couple had visited a Hindu temple before setting out to court.

“We have told our God that please give us back our baby,” she said.

A court on Jan. 12 ordered the hospital in eastern Sri Lanka to give the baby to the Jeyarajahs temporarily until his parentage could be determined. Jeyarajah and his wife are the only claimants who have filed a formal police report to retrieve the child, a necessary legal step.

But Kalmunai Base Hospital doctors, who said they were concerned about the many rival claims, refused to comply, arguing the child still needed medical attention, according to court documents seen by the Associated Press.

“Maybe the couple is not lying, but the only way to make sure 100 percent is to have a DNA test,” said Dr. K. Muhunthan, an obstetrician at the hospital. “We cannot give away orphans first-come, first-served. We must be neutral.”

No other claimants were expected to testify in court, although the proceedings were still open to last-minute additions.

On Tuesday, the hospital’s 82 nurses and nine midwives took turns visiting Baby 81, anticipating he may soon be leaving them.

“I am praying that the baby goes to the correct parents,” said nurse S. Rajeswaran. “At the same time I don’t want to let the baby go as I have become very attached to him. I will be very sad.”

Baby 81’s plight has become emblematic of the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster’s effect on families. In Sri Lanka alone, the waves claimed the lives of some 12,000 children, about 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s death toll of 31,000.