Mother charged with abandoning baby in Bedok North rubbish chute
baby found in chute bedok
A baby was found alive in a rubbish chute in Bedok North. (Photo: Cindy Co)
15 Feb 2020 09:11AM
(Updated: 15 Feb 2020 11:51AM)
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SINGAPORE: A 26-year-old woman was charged on Saturday (Feb 15) with throwing her newborn baby boy into a rubbish chute at a Bedok flat last month, intending to abandon him.
The baby was found alive inside a rubbish chute at Block 534 Bedok North Street 3 at about 9.10am on Jan 7. The discovery was reportedly made by several cleaners, who were clearing garbage when they saw the baby wrapped in a blood-stained supermarket plastic bag.
Police had said the baby was in stable condition, with no visible injuries.
Officers from the Bedok Police Division identified the woman through ground investigations and with the help of police cameras and CCTV footage provided by residents and businesses in the neighbourhood.
She was arrested on Thursday. The authorities are looking into the identity of the child's father.
The prosecutor applied for the woman to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric observation.
The unrepresented woman asked if she could be offered bail instead.
District Judge Tan Jen Tse told her: "After doing the offence, you went back to sleep as if nothing has happened. That's what the investigation officer is saying."
It was also mentioned that said she was thinking of ending her life, said the judge.
She was remanded for two weeks for psychiatric observation and will return to court on Feb 28.
If convicted, she may be jailed up to seven years, fined or both.
In a press release issued earlier on Saturday, Commander of the Bedok Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Julius Lim, said the police officers involved in this case had "worked tirelessly to identify the offender and spared no effort in the pursuit of justice".
Source: CN/hs