The lead story in Tuesday's STAR was as shocking as it was touching.

According to the story, a four-month-old baby was stolen from her mother in the Salt Pond area of St. Catherine. The story explained that a stranger approached the child's mother and told her that a neighbour wanted to take the baby to the supermarket. Not thinking that anything was out of the ordinary, since the neighbour often took the child out, she handed her baby to the stranger. She has not seen her daughter since.

It is interesting to see that even in the face of the steadily increasing cost of living, there is someone out there willing to take on additional pressure. Taking care of a child is not a joke, and it is not a part-time job either. Is it that this person was so desperate to have a child that he or she would stop at nothing to accomplish this goal? Did this person not think of the impact such an act would have on the child's mother?

Some might think the child's mother should have been more careful, and this is true to an extent. It is true that not many of us would just hand over our child to a complete stranger, but we shouldn't rush to judge.

What is important is for this woman to be reunited with her child and for the person who took her child to face the punishment that he or she deserves.