NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - A pregnant woman was forced to give birth near a drain outside a state-run hospital in southern India after she was turned away because she did not have money to pay the 1,000 rupee ($18) bribe demanded by an employee in the maternity ward, the Hindu newspaper reported on Monday.
The 27-year-old woman called Laxmi, who was in labour at the time was reportedly forced to leave the Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in the city of Salem in Tamil Nadu state on Sunday after the hospital worker demanded money for the delivery.
According to the report, the woman and her husband - who are labourers - said they could not afford to pay the bribe and were made to leave the hospital where services are supposed to be free-of-charge.
"Laxmi was delivered of a male child at around 11 a.m. near the drain on the Commercial Complex premises," said the Hindu.
"Members of the media fraternity who rushed to the spot called the 108 ambulance and the mother was admitted to the maternity ward, while the child was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit."
Hospital authorities said that an inquiry into the incident will be conducted.
Experts say that India's public health system is woefully underfunded and reports abound of neglect and mismanagement where expectant mothers are refused admission or reckless fires started causing patients to be burnt alive in their beds.
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