TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A woman was arrested on Thursday (Aug. 12) after confessing that she abandoned her newborn baby, which was found in a garbage truck in New Taipei City earlier that day.
At 6:50 a.m. on Thursday morning, trash truck operators discovered a plastic bag containing a deceased baby girl, while at the intersection of Zhonggang and Zhonghua streets in New Taipei City's Xinzhuang District. The sanitation workers immediately notified police, who inspected surveillance camera footage for clues.
Officers were able to discern the individual who had placed the bag in the truck and soon identified the suspect to be a 43-year-old woman surnamed Chen (陳). Within five hours, police were able to track down Chen to her place of employment in Taipei's Neihu District, where she works as an accountant, reported SET News.
When police brought Chen in for questioning, she denied knowledge of being pregnant said that at 5 a.m. she felt pain in her abdomen. When Chen went to the bathroom she claimed that she was shocked to realize that she had given birth to a stillborn baby girl.
Chen claims that she panicked, put the body in two plastic bags, and then discarded it in a garbage truck at the usual trash collection point in the neighborhood, before going to work as usual. However, the bag ripped in the process and trash truck crews noticed the body of the child as it slid out of the bag opening, then called the police, reported FTV News.
Chen being escorted by police. (Taipei City Police Department photo)
A preliminary investigation revealed that based on fetus development, the woman had been pregnant for seven months. An umbilical cord was found tied around the baby's neck, but investigators are not yet certain whether the infant was stillborn or died after birth.
Prosecutors are investigating Chen for abandonment of a corpse (遺棄屍體罪), abandonment causing death (遺棄致死), and homicide (殺人罪). If she is found guilty of abandonment of a corpse she could face six months to five years in prison, but if she is deemed guilty of abandonment causing death or homicide, she could be sentenced to life in prison.
When Chen's husband of 20 years was informed of the incident, he claimed that he was unaware his wife was pregnant, reported Liberty Times. He said that about three months ago, he noticed that she had become fat and jokingly asked if she was pregnant, but she said, "No! Don't think crazy thoughts."
The man said that two days before the incident, his wife had gone to Carrefour to buy sanitary napkins, so he was surprised to learn that she was pregnant. He said the couple has two sons and added "it would be nice to have a daughter."
Chen's spouse said he believed they would have been financially able to raise the child. He denied any knowledge of the incident and speculated that his wife panicked and decided to deal with the situation on her own.
Chen has been released on NT$50,000 (US$1,700) bail and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
Police investigate abandoned baby crime scene. (Facebook, 愛新莊我是新莊人 image)