Mother was arrested for kidnapping her newborn daughter from Faro Hospital
The 37-year-old woman who was arrested after kidnapping her newborn baby daughter from Faro Hospital has been prohibited from approaching the child, a police source has told Lusa news agency.
The mother took her daughter from Faro Hospital on Thursday, October 26 during a visit and was tracked down by authorities to a house in Faro and arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, October 31, along with a man who helped her.
After being heard by a judge, the mother was issued a restraining measure preventing her from “approaching the hospital or any other institution where the baby is located.” Meanwhile, the 45-year-old man was placed on the ‘termo de identidade e residência’ scheme, under which he is obliged to report to authorities whenever necessary.
While the baby girl was kidnapped from Faro’s public hospital, she was born in a private hospital, which Faro PJ police boss Fernando Jordão said may have been part of the mother’s plan to keep the child and circumvent the protective measures issued by Portugal’s Family and Minors Court.
Jordão also revealed that the woman, who is being monitored by the Commission for the Protection of Children and Youths, has another child who is institutionalised.
Her newborn daughter, who is one month old, returned to Faro Hospital and remains under its care until a decision is made about her future, as she is subject to provisional protective measures by the Family Court.
According to a statement from the Algarv University Hospital Centre (CHUA) sent to Lusa, the baby was in the hospital as part of provisional protective measures for children and youth at risk, “but without a clinical reason and awaiting a court decision on permanent placement.”
