Indian temple fines parents for urinating baby

New Delhi, India - An Indian temple fined the parents of a baby that urinated on its mother while she was praying, but the government ordered the money returned, saying the penalty was unfair.

Officials at the Thrissur Hindu temple in the coastal state of Kerala fined the six-month-old's parents 2,000 rupees -- a hefty sum for an Indian working family -- saying the baby had desecrated the temple, the Times of India reported.

Priests also held special prayer ceremonies to cleanse the temple after the incident.

When the father, a mechanic, said he did not have the money, other worshippers chipped in to pay the fine for him.

But the father appealed to the government, which told the temple to give the money back because a baby could not be expected to control its bladder.