Newborn boy found abandoned in cardboard box

Sharjah police took the baby, who was wrapped in a piece of cloth, to Al Qasimi Hospital to check on his condition as the child, described as Caucasian, had been left out in the open during a spell of cold weather.

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A baby boy has been found abandoned in a cardboard box in Sharjah.

The newborn was discovered lying near a restaurant in the Halwan area at about noon on Friday.

Sharjah Police took the baby, who was wrapped in a piece of cloth, to Al Qassimi Hospital.

The infant, who has been described as Caucasian, had been left out in the open in cold weather.

Officers at Al Heira Police Stationare investigating, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.

A two-day-old girl was found in the garden of a home in Al Mansoura in November last year.

The child was discovered at about 7am by neighbours, who immediately notified the police.

She was taken to Al Qassimi Hospital before being moved to the Sharjah Children’s Social Care Home.

Dozens of abandoned babies are found each year, left on the street, near mosques or outside homes.

They cannot be adopted under Sharia but they can be cared for by Emirati families through a permanent fostering and guardianship system.

In 2012, a new federal law established a standardised system to care for abandoned children, replacing a patchwork of procedures in different emirates.

The law, issued by the President, Sheikh Khalifa, provides for children of unknown parentage, called laqeet in Arabic.

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