Search for toddler’s parents continues

Manama : The search for a lost toddler’s parents entered the third day as no one claimed him after he was found wandering the streets of Central Manama alone late on Wednesday night.

Police announced that the two-year-old is kept at Bab Al Bahrain Police Station. Anyone who identifies him or his parents has been asked to report to the police station.

A source in the police station told DT News yesterday that the nationality of the child remains unknown as he has not started  speaking yet.

“He’s only calling for his parents and that’s all he knows to say,” the source said, adding that the boy is believed to be of a foreign nationality.

“We have the authority to coordinate with all police stations in the Kingdom. No missing reports were filed at any police station,” the source informed.

“At this point we speculate that his parents are illegal residents or he has no legal documents, and that might be the reason why they didn’t contact the police yet. They might be fearing legal accountability. He might be an illegitimate child and his parents may have abandoned him. We still don’t know what is the issue, but investigations are continuing and the public will be updated by the concerned departments in the Interior Ministry on the latest developments,” the source added.

In good health

A source in the centre told DT News that the boy is in good health and that he is eating and sleeping well. “He was brought here by police officers late on Thursday night. He is a quiet child. We recognised that some of the words he speaks are in Arabic. But he doesn’t know how to say a full sentence. He only speaks when he needs to use the restroom or when he is hungry,” the source added. 

LMRA offers to help parents  

In another development, Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced yesterday that “no legal action will be taken against the parents” in case they were illegal residents.

“LMRA would like to confirm that it will not take any action against the parents of this child if they come forward to claim him in case that their work permit or residency are expired, terminated, or not in order in anyway,” LMRA CEO Ausamah Al Absi said in a statement published yesterday on the authority’s official Twitter page.

It has been confirmed in the statement that the child is no longer at the police station and was taken to Batelco Child Care Centre in Seef district.