Detan
25.11.07, 14:02
Baby Mix-Up: Turkish Father to Sue for Damages
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 21 November 2007 — A Turkish couple, whose newborn baby was mistakenly swapped at birth with the son of a Saudi camel breeder at a government hospital in Najran, intends to sue the Ministry of Health for damages, the couple’s attorney told Arab News.
Yusuf Cucu, 37, a car mechanic who has been living in the Kingdom for the past 17 years, has appointed lawyer Kateb Al-Shammari to represent him in the Saudi Grievances Court.
“Article 8 of the Grievance law specifies that any citizen or resident can sue a government department if he or she has been subjected to injustice,” Al-Shammari said, adding that injustice in this case is both financial and psychological.
Al-Shammari declined to mention the compensation his client was seeking. “We are currently in the phase of assessing the damage the family has endured. Once the investigation is over, we will submit this to the Grievances Court,” he said.
Cucu said that besides enduring psychological pain, he has spent “thousands of dollars on medical checkups” including a DNA test several months ago in Ankara, which proved that Yaqoob — the Saudi boy who has been with the couple since birth — was not their biological son.
Cucu said that for several years now he and his wife have been suffering as a result of the mix-up. His wife, he said, was going through a “mental breakdown,” but was slowly recovering. “She has suffered the most. Often she would end up leaving women’s gatherings crying when they would raise doubts about her honor when they see Yaqoob with her,” he said.
Yaqoob, the name they had chosen for the Saudi boy when he was given to them in the operation room after delivery, has brown skin, black hair and the typical features of a Saudi boy, even though he speaks Turkish as his mother tongue. While, Yaqoob still lives with the Turkish family, Yusuf’s biological son, Ali, remains with the Saudi family.
Cucu said that in spite of the Governorate of Jizan and the Health Ministry investigating the case, he has not received “anything” from the Health Ministry. “Regarding the two villas, which the ministry claims that they have rented for my family and the Saudi family to move into to live next to one another, none of that has happened,” he said.
He did say, however, that Deputy Minister of Health Obeid Al-Obeid visited him in Najran to assure him that the ministry was following the case.
According to Cucu, who narrated his entire story to members of the press yesterday, his son was born by caesarian section on Sept. 7, 2003 at King Khaled General Hospital in Najran. “When I asked them to bring me my newborn, a nurse went to the delivery room and brought us the child. I was shocked at first,” said Cucu. “I told his mother about what I saw: a child with none of our features. She said she knew about it, but ruled out anything strange, saying that his brown color could be from his uncle,” he said, adding that the nurse at the delivery room reassured them that this was indeed their baby.
Nine months passed and Cucu remained unconvinced. More and more people were asking them questions about their boy’s Arab features, for which they had no answer. He then decided to take his wife and three children to Turkey where he consulted his brother, a doctor in Antakia. The entire family underwent a blood test, the results of which showed nothing strange. The boy had O-positive blood type, similar to Yusuf’s other boys.
The family then returned to the Kingdom. However, over the years, people continued raising suspicions about Yaqoob. Cucu said that at one point, he was almost convinced Yaqoob was illegitimate, and not his own. Furious that his wife may have committed adultery, he said that he even considered ending her life.
In the end, friends advised him to travel to Turkey and undergo further medical checks. Even though DNA tests are expensive, Cucu was willing to pay whatever the cost to find the truth.
Cucu, his wife, Yaqoob and the couple’s other children underwent DNA testing, which proved that Yaqoob was not their biological son.
“At that point I went back to the government hospital in Saudi Arabia and showed them the proof. The director of the hospital tried to hush me up, asking me not to go to the press or make a scene,” he said.
Cucu followed up the case with the Health Affairs in Najran and then wrote a letter to the governor of Najran with the help of his sponsor’s attorney. It was only when the deputy governor personally met him and looked into his case that things began to move. An official investigation was launched and another DNA test was ordered.
“I got a call from the head of the criminal investigation department in Riyadh telling me before Ramadan that it was confirmed by DNA that Yaqoob was not my biological son,” he said, adding that the tragic mix-up has caused pain and suffering to both families.
“I am trying to slowly prepare Yaqoob for the bad news that he will soon have to leave us. For example, I told him that he has two fathers when he saw the picture of the Saudi man next to him in the newspaper,” he said. Yaqoob refused to comprehend such a thing, and it will not be an easy task for both families to convince the boys that they are not their biological parents.
Yusuf said that he has yet to see his son Ali and the Saudi family who brought him up. Both families are waiting for the Governorate of Najran and the Ministry of Health to conclude their investigations, before the boys can be swapped and rehabilitation programs can begin.
http://www.arabnews.com/
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 21 November 2007 — A Turkish couple, whose newborn baby was mistakenly swapped at birth with the son of a Saudi camel breeder at a government hospital in Najran, intends to sue the Ministry of Health for damages, the couple’s attorney told Arab News.
Yusuf Cucu, 37, a car mechanic who has been living in the Kingdom for the past 17 years, has appointed lawyer Kateb Al-Shammari to represent him in the Saudi Grievances Court.
“Article 8 of the Grievance law specifies that any citizen or resident can sue a government department if he or she has been subjected to injustice,” Al-Shammari said, adding that injustice in this case is both financial and psychological.
Al-Shammari declined to mention the compensation his client was seeking. “We are currently in the phase of assessing the damage the family has endured. Once the investigation is over, we will submit this to the Grievances Court,” he said.
Cucu said that besides enduring psychological pain, he has spent “thousands of dollars on medical checkups” including a DNA test several months ago in Ankara, which proved that Yaqoob — the Saudi boy who has been with the couple since birth — was not their biological son.
Cucu said that for several years now he and his wife have been suffering as a result of the mix-up. His wife, he said, was going through a “mental breakdown,” but was slowly recovering. “She has suffered the most. Often she would end up leaving women’s gatherings crying when they would raise doubts about her honor when they see Yaqoob with her,” he said.
Yaqoob, the name they had chosen for the Saudi boy when he was given to them in the operation room after delivery, has brown skin, black hair and the typical features of a Saudi boy, even though he speaks Turkish as his mother tongue. While, Yaqoob still lives with the Turkish family, Yusuf’s biological son, Ali, remains with the Saudi family.
Cucu said that in spite of the Governorate of Jizan and the Health Ministry investigating the case, he has not received “anything” from the Health Ministry. “Regarding the two villas, which the ministry claims that they have rented for my family and the Saudi family to move into to live next to one another, none of that has happened,” he said.
He did say, however, that Deputy Minister of Health Obeid Al-Obeid visited him in Najran to assure him that the ministry was following the case.
According to Cucu, who narrated his entire story to members of the press yesterday, his son was born by caesarian section on Sept. 7, 2003 at King Khaled General Hospital in Najran. “When I asked them to bring me my newborn, a nurse went to the delivery room and brought us the child. I was shocked at first,” said Cucu. “I told his mother about what I saw: a child with none of our features. She said she knew about it, but ruled out anything strange, saying that his brown color could be from his uncle,” he said, adding that the nurse at the delivery room reassured them that this was indeed their baby.
Nine months passed and Cucu remained unconvinced. More and more people were asking them questions about their boy’s Arab features, for which they had no answer. He then decided to take his wife and three children to Turkey where he consulted his brother, a doctor in Antakia. The entire family underwent a blood test, the results of which showed nothing strange. The boy had O-positive blood type, similar to Yusuf’s other boys.
The family then returned to the Kingdom. However, over the years, people continued raising suspicions about Yaqoob. Cucu said that at one point, he was almost convinced Yaqoob was illegitimate, and not his own. Furious that his wife may have committed adultery, he said that he even considered ending her life.
In the end, friends advised him to travel to Turkey and undergo further medical checks. Even though DNA tests are expensive, Cucu was willing to pay whatever the cost to find the truth.
Cucu, his wife, Yaqoob and the couple’s other children underwent DNA testing, which proved that Yaqoob was not their biological son.
“At that point I went back to the government hospital in Saudi Arabia and showed them the proof. The director of the hospital tried to hush me up, asking me not to go to the press or make a scene,” he said.
Cucu followed up the case with the Health Affairs in Najran and then wrote a letter to the governor of Najran with the help of his sponsor’s attorney. It was only when the deputy governor personally met him and looked into his case that things began to move. An official investigation was launched and another DNA test was ordered.
“I got a call from the head of the criminal investigation department in Riyadh telling me before Ramadan that it was confirmed by DNA that Yaqoob was not my biological son,” he said, adding that the tragic mix-up has caused pain and suffering to both families.
“I am trying to slowly prepare Yaqoob for the bad news that he will soon have to leave us. For example, I told him that he has two fathers when he saw the picture of the Saudi man next to him in the newspaper,” he said. Yaqoob refused to comprehend such a thing, and it will not be an easy task for both families to convince the boys that they are not their biological parents.
Yusuf said that he has yet to see his son Ali and the Saudi family who brought him up. Both families are waiting for the Governorate of Najran and the Ministry of Health to conclude their investigations, before the boys can be swapped and rehabilitation programs can begin.
http://www.arabnews.com/