Wait may go on for couple claiming to be Baby 81's parents

A Sri Lankan couple claiming to be the parents of Baby 81 – a symbol of the families torn apart by the tsunami – were scheduled to undergo DNA tests today, but may have to wait days to know the result.

The couple and infant boy are scheduled to arrive separately in the capital Colombo, where blood samples will be drawn to decide the world’s most-watched paternity case, after a nine-hour drive over a bumpy, elephant-travelled road from the eastern town of Kalmunai.

Maya Gunasekera, chief executive of Genetech Molecular Diagnostics, which will perform the tests under court order, said a minimum of two days – and possibly more – could be required to complete the tests.

After that, the results must be sent by registered post – not e-mail – to the judge, which could take at least two to three more days.

“All these rules take time, and we cannot overrule them because here you are dealing with legal issues,” Gunasekera said.

However, he added that there was one provision under which the results could be faxed.

“The judge must certify in writing that he has a secured fax for his eyes only,” Gunasekera said. “Only then can we fax the report.”

Murugupillai and Jenita Jeyarajah have spent an agonising seven weeks trying to prove their claims that the boy is their son Abilass, whom they lost when the tsunami destroyed their home and family records proving their parentage.

The infant, who was discovered among corpses and debris nine hours after the waves struck, was dubbed Baby 81 because he was the 81st admission to the Kalmunai hospital that day.

His fate attracted attention when nine couples initially claimed him as their missing child. But only the Jeyarajahs filed formal legal papers, and the other couples failed to press their claims.