Blaine calls for severe punishment for teen mother

Convener of Hear the Children’s Cry, Betty Ann Blaine, says she is alarmed at the abuse of a two-year-old baby girl by her mother on Boxing Day.



The infant was reportedly tied up and left in an abandoned building on Spanish Town Road in Kingston by her 19-year-old mother.



The police say elastic bands were used to bind the infant’s hands at the wrist.



She was reportedly left in the building by her mother who wanted to attend a dance in Portmore, St Catherine.



The child was found by passers-by who heard the infant crying and called the police.



Ms. Blaine says the mother should be punished in a severe manner.



Ms. Blaine says the action by the mother brings into question the issue of teenage pregnancy among young girls.



According to Ms Blaine, too many teenage mothers do not have the capacity to properly care for their children.



She is also calling for the child to be placed in the care of the Child Development Agency, after being released from hospital.



The toddler is being treated at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.



Police arrested the teenage mother the same night, after she was found at her friend’s house on Albert Street in Denham Town.



She was reportedly getting dressed to attend the dance.