The newborn baby abducted earlier by a woman who disguised herself as a nurse from the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital here was recovered on Monday, police said.
Lt. Colonel Peter Pinalgan Jr, Koronadal City police chief, said the three-day-old baby was found at 6 p.m. on Monday inside the Dr. Arturo P. Pingoy Medical Center with the suspect, a 25-year-old woman believed to be suffering from postpartum depression.
The woman from Barangay Blingkong, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat had entered the private hospital to have the baby checked by a medical practitioner, but a hospital staff member noticed the woman’s restlessness and alerted the police.
On Sunday, the reported abduction of a child from the provincial hospital has been circulating on social media in South Cotabato.
Pinalgan said the woman was invited for questioning while charges were being prepared against her.
The parents reacted with relief when the baby was turned over to them safely.
‘I am very happy our baby is safe,’ said Ryan Malinog, father. ‘I’m sorry, my baby, for what happened,’ he said to the baby in the vernacularPolice brought Malinog to the private hospital where the woman was being held, and he positively identified her as the woman who claimed she was a nurse and had taken their daughter around 10 a.m. on Sunday and never came back.
Pinalgan said they received information that the woman, whose identity was withheld by the police and health authorities, was suffering from postpartum depression.
But the woman was still able to talk to reporters and told them that she experienced a miscarriage a few days ago and was worried that her husband might get mad at her.
So she decided to ‘abduct’ the baby girl from the provincial hospital and claim her as her own.
Police said she would be facing charges for violation of Republic Act 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
The three provincial security personnel on duty at the South Cotabato provincial hospital at the time of the abduction had been relieved./coa