MAKKAH, 11 September 2007 — Police in the Grand Mosque in Makkah found last Friday a two-year-old child, who they believe was abandoned inside the prayer complex. The child was taken to the lost people’s office and has not been claimed by his parents or guardians.
“Officers took him to the missing people’s office and inquired whether he was reported missing. The child didn’t have any documents to help us trace his family,” said Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman, spokesman for the Makkah police.
The boy was handed over to a children’s care home, which is also used to house child beggars. “Officials tried to talk to the child and ask him about his parents. The child is, however, too young to speak and understand,” said Al-Mayman. He added that police have not received reports about the missing boy and that it is thought that his parents deliberately abandoned him.
