Muscat: A newborn baby was found abandoned near a mosque recently in Rustaq province, 150 kilometres away from Muscat, Gulf News has learnt.
The baby girl, believed to be no more than one day old, was spotted by residents of Say village last week.
An official source at Rustaq Hospital said that the baby girl is in a stable health condition.
“She remains under observation,” said the source.
More than 124 abandoned children believed to be born to couples out of wedlock are living in the government-run Al Khoud Child Care Centre in the capital Muscat, according to the Ministry of Social Development.
Couples often abandon these children out of fear of legal persecution.
Sex out of wedlock is against the law in Oman.
In October, a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in a remote area in Amerat province of Muscat governorate.
In August, two siblings were found abandoned in Muscat’s Qurum Park during Eid holidays.
They were later fostered by an Omani family.
Abandoned children are cared for at Al Khoud Child Care Centre until they are placed with foster families.
Omani authorities give them names, birth certificates and citizenship documents, and intensively pre-screen Omani families interested in adopting the children, according to an official at the Ministry of Social Development.
Most unwanted children are found abandoned near mosques, hospitals and Al Khoud centre.
Last year, a two-year-old girl, Dana, who was found abandoned in Buraimi Public Park. She was found crying alone in the park after being brought there by an Omani woman who called the police to rescue her.
The woman, along with an Omani man believed to be the girl’s father, were held in police custody for months but later released on bail.
The names of the people involved in the case have not been revealed by authorities as the investigation is ongoing.
The girl’s mother is believed to be a Saudi national who used to live with the Omani man in Buraimi, a town that borders the UAE city of Al Ain.
Investigators believe the mother fled to the UAE, but authorities have been unable to get any information about her exact whereabouts.
The girl was adopted by an Omani family this year.
