תינוק בסרילנקה, שעשרה זוגות טענו שהוא שלהם, זוהה סופית לפי ה-DNA ויימסר להוריו האמיתיים שהיו היחידים שהגישו תביעה משפטית לקבלו.

DNA Test Results Released for 'Baby 81'

DNA Test Results Show `Baby 81' Belongs to Sri Lankan Couple Who Launched Court Battle for His Custody

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press Writer

KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka Feb 14, 2005 — DNA test results confirm that a baby boy
rescued from tsunami debris in Sri Lanka and dubbed "Baby 81" belongs to the couple who launched a wrenching court battle for his custody, a court announced Monday.
The finding ended weeks of uncertainty and drama surrounding the infant, who became a symbol of families torn apart by the Dec. 26 tsunami, and set the stage for a reunion Wednesday with his parents Jenita and Murugupillai Jeyarajah.

"I am so happy, and I only have to thank God for giving my child back," Murugupillai, the boy's father, said. "We've got the results for all our hardships."

Nine couples originally claimed the boy in the coastal town of Kalmunai. The Jeyarajahs were the only couple to file a formal claim, but they couldn't document it because their records were swept away in the tsunami.
The court had ruled that the baby must stay in the hospital until DNA tests could confirm his parentage, and the family underwent the testing Feb. 9.

The judge unsealed the results from an envelope during a hearing attended only by lawyers Monday, read them aloud and then ordered the couple, hospital officials and baby to appear before the court on Wednesday.

"Since they are the biological parents, I have noticed them to appear on that day and we will hand over the baby," Kalmunai Judge M.P. Mohaideen said after the hearing.

"The reason they had to go through a DNA test is to ensure that the baby is not discriminated against," Mohaideen said. "This is the first such case in Sri Lanka and it is a historic case."

The couple's lawyer, S.H.M. Manarudeen, was embraced by a weeping Murugupillai after he broke the news to the Jeyarajahs.

"We will go and see the baby this evening. We're happy," said Jenita, the baby's mother.

The child's name is Abilass, and he was born Oct. 19, the Jeyarajahs say. He was pulled from his mother's arms when the tsunami hit on Dec. 26, they say.

Rescuers found the baby amid mud, debris and corpses after the tsunami, and he was named "Baby 81" because he was the 81st patient admitted that day to the hospital in Kalmunai, 185 miles east of the capital, Colombo.