Parents lodge police report over misuse of baby pictures

A police report has been lodged by a couple after finding out that there were unscrupulous people using the pictures of their three-month-old baby boy to solicit donations from the public.

The baby’s mother, Siti Aishah Rafiee, 27, said the matter came to light after she was informed by an acquaintance that the pictures of her baby Mohd Fauzan Syakir Mohamad Taufiq who was born without parts of his spine was circulating on Facebook.

Siti Aishah said she and her husband, Mohamad Taufiq Yusoff, 25, never posted the baby pictures to solicit donations and they did not know any person with the name of Muhammad Idham, the bank account owner as listed on the site.

“In that posting, he was using pictures of Mohd Fauzan Syakir which were uploaded by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that shared the problems our baby had been experiencing since birth.

“It is very frustrating that some people have taken advantage of our baby's condition for personal gain and as we do not want more people to fall prey for it, we lodged a report at the Tengkera police station on Monday,” she told reporters when met at her home in Bachang, Malacca today.

Besides being born without parts of his spine, Mohd Fauzan Syakir also suffering from complex cyanotic heart disease and diabetic embryopathy.

Siti Aishah said although her firstborn was not as "normal" as other babies, she was grateful that their families and communities have been very supportive including the Social Welfare Department which provided RM350 a month.

“Currently there is no specific treatment for Mohd Fauzan Syakir but once every two months we will take him to Melaka Hospital and Serdang Hospital for further examination.

"The doctors have not given any suggestions for surgery since our baby is small and at high risk, but I always pray for a miracle that our baby boy will be as healthy as any normal baby," she said.

For those who wish to help, they can contact Siti Aishah at 018-270 6810 or channel the contributions into her Bank Simpanan Nasional account (0499541100193537).

- Bernama