Couple arrested in S’pore for suspected involvement in baby dumping case

Singapore – A man and a woman, both 25 years old, were arrested by the police for allegedly dumping the body of a newborn in Taiwan in 2019.

The police confirmed that the pair were taken into custody on Apr 28 following a request for assistance from Taiwanese authorities, reported The Straits Times on Tuesday (May 11).

Taiwanese authorities had issued a warrant for arrest on Feb 2021 for a couple in Singapore for their suspected involvement in the death of a newborn baby girl.

It was reported that the body was found in a food recycling bin at a waste management facility in Taipei on Feb 26, 2019.

According to a representative for the Taipei district prosecutor’s office, Ms Chen Ju-Ping, the authorities had “enough objective evidence” for the couple’s arrest.

The woman had allegedly given birth to the baby girl on Feb 26, 2019, during a holiday with her boyfriend in Taipei, reported ST.

The body was dumped in a food waste bin and eventually transported by a rubbish truck to a recycling plant in Xindian about 10 km away.

Hours later, staff from the recycling plant found the body, umbilical cord and placenta still intact, in a garbage bag.

Taiwanese authorities tracked down the couple by reviewing more than 100 closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and checking immigration records. The couple had checked out of their hotel the same afternoon and flown to Singapore.

Reports indicated that pieces of placenta were found in the bathroom pipe of the hotel room booked by the couple.

The baby was alive at birth, noted a forensic test conducted in Taiwan; however, Taiwanese authorities could only arrest the couple if on Taiwan soil.

The couple had denied their involvement in the case when contacted two years ago.

Insisting that she was not pregnant, the woman said she would not have been able to board the flight to Taiwan otherwise. Meanwhile, the man denied leaving the hotel to throw the plastic bag, reported ST.

He announced on social media on Oct 24, 2020, that they were engaged.

Investigations are ongoing./TISG

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