Woman Who Dumped Newborn On Plane 'Was Raped'
3:56pm Thursday September 16, 2010
Tom Bonnett
A woman who gave birth to a baby on a flight from the Middle East and dumped it on the plane has said she was raped by her employer.
The baby has been temporarily named George Francis
The baby was found by in a rubbish bag that had apparently come from the bathroom on the Gulf Air flight from Bahrain. The Philippine woman said she was raped while working as a maid in Qatar and when she fell pregnant her boss's wife made her return home. She managed to hide her pregnancy and board the plane.
But when she gave birth she abandoned the child because she was afraid of what her family would say, her representative, Lani Mercado, said. The 6lb 9oz baby - still attached to the placenta - was found wrapped in tissue paper. Airport officials said the baby, already bluish in colour, may have died within a few minutes had he not been found.
The woman has been shown a picture of the child, which has been temporarily named George Francis after Gulf Air's flight code GF. She is said to be very eager to see her baby. The child now appears to be fine but has had an X-ray because of two bumps on his head. The results have not yet been released.
The 30-year-old woman was found on Wednesday in the Apayao area of the Philippines after investigators set out to find the person who sat in a bloodstained seat on the plane. Authorities brought her to Manila for questioning and testing. DNA tests are to be carried out to ensure the woman is the mother, but the results will not be known for at least a month.
In the meantime, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman has custody of the baby. "We want to be very sure that we won't ascribe this act to the wrong person," Ms Soliman said. About 20 couples, including some from abroad, have offered to adopt the boy, she said.
