Hospital authorities have, however, denied the charges saying the father did give permission to bury the child, Al-Watan newspaper reported.

Muhammad Al-Moshall said he went to claim his son’s body and was shocked when he was told that he had been buried. “The burial was done without my consent or knowledge. They did not even allow me and my wife to bid our baby farewell,” he said.

Al-Moshall’s pregnant wife was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 1. “I was later told that my wife underwent a caesarian section and that the baby had died during delivery,” he said.

“I then came to hospital and asked for a medical report which I was told would be ready after three days. When my wife was discharged from hospital on Oct. 5, I asked about the baby’s body and was shocked to hear that he had been buried.”

He added that he did not sign any documents allowing the burial and that he does not know who could have signed the documents on his behalf. “They simply informed me that the baby was not alive when he was born. The medical report showed that he died due to the premature separation of the placenta leading to a low pulse rate,” he said.

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, the hospital’s executive director, said the 38-year-old mother did not have a previous file at the hospital and arrived at the maternity section in a state of acute labor pain.

“The doctors realized that she had passed her delivery date by two weeks and that a further delay could cause more complications for both mother and baby. She was bleeding profusely while on her way to the operation theater and it was revealed that the baby was dead and the mother's condition serious. The medical team, therefore, carried out an emergency caesarian operation to save the mother,” he said.

He added that the baby's father had given hospital staff permission to undertake the burial. “However, we did not secure a consent in writing for this in advance,” he said.

Al-Moshall said he has lodged a complaint with Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and has asked for a probe into the incident.

Muhammad Al-Bashari, director of public relations at Onaiza municipality, said it is not possible to bury a body without the written consent of relatives.

“We will examine the case and will come to a conclusion once investigations are carried out,” he added.