‘Baby 81’ back home after tsunami ordeal

THE four-month-old boy who was swept from his mother’s arms by the Asian tsunami eight weeks ago and later nicknamed “Baby 81” was handed to his parents in a joyous courtroom reunion yesterday after an agonising custody battle of nearly eight weeks.

A smiling Jenita Jeyarajah took her little son, Abilass, from a doctor’s arms after she and her husband, Murugupillai, approached the bench in a courtroom packed with onlookers.

“Look how happy he is! He knows the scent of his parents,” Murugupillai Jeyarajah said later. “After returning to us, he still hasn’t cried.”