Police silent over discoveries
BY JARED KOLI
Lifeless bodies of two newborn babies were discovered dumped in two separate locations this week, one in Honiara on Monday and the other in Northeast Guadalcanal on Tuesday.
Few days on, and police are yet to make a statement on these horrific discoveries.
On Monday, a man discovered the dead body of an infant allegedly dumped in a stream at Water Pump area in west Honiara. On Tuesday afternoon, students of Ngalibiu primary school stumbled upon a body of a dead baby boy at the Ngalibiu riverside near Tetere in Northeast Guadalcanal.
Island Sun has managed to get an account of the Ngalibiu incident from students who made the discovery, relayed through a teacher.
“The students were there to cut firewood when one of the students saw the dead baby trapped at the bank of the river, at first he thought it was a doll. But upon examining it, they realised that it was actually a dead baby, stuck just at the riverside,” William Simata, a primary school teacher at Ngalibiu relayed.
“It was a dead baby boy and still had a fresh look as though he was thrown at the river and got stuck there not long ago. Maybe because the current of the river was not strong enough to carry it away.
“It is still covered with white coating and the umbilical cord still attached,” Simata said.
Security officers at GPPOL station-1 heard of the discovery and went over to the scene and took the dead infant to their base. They then called the police. The matter was attended to by Tetere Police officers.
Details of the discovery at Water pump on Monday is sketchy but a student who was among a crowd that went and witnessed the discovery told Island Sun that it happened on Monday afternoon. It was discovered by a man.
Explicit photographs of both discoveries have flooded Facebook.
Police Media unit did not respond to enquiries by this paper yesterday.
However, an officer at Tetere Police Station when called yesterday said there has not been any arrest. He could not confirm if preliminary investigation on the matter has started.
Calls made to Guadalcanal Provincial Police Commander yesterday went unsuccessful.
The alleged infanticide cases come just two months after a body of a female infant was found in the Holy Cross Cathedral area in Honiara (early April).
Infanticide is a crime of a mother killing her child within a year of birth.
According to Section 206 of the Solomon Islands Penal Code, infanticide is punishable by law.
“Where a woman by any wilful act or omission causes the death of her child being a child under the age of twelve months, but at the time of the act or omission the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child, then, notwithstanding that the circumstances were such that but for the provisions of this section the offence would have amounted to murder, she shall be guilty of felony, to wit, infanticide, and may for such offence be dealt with and punished as if she had been guilty of manslaughter of the child.”
