baby abuse-investigation
Mother arrested for allegedly neglecting newborn to death, abandoning body in trash bin
GWANGJU, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Police have arrested a woman in her 30s on suspicions of neglecting her 6-day-old baby to death and abandoning the body in a public trash bin in 2018, officials said Friday.
The mother is accused of leaving her baby alone at her home in the southern city of Gwangju in April 2018, resulting in the baby's death. She allegedly abandoned the body in a public trash collection box, wrapped in a plastic trash bag.
The suspect told the police that she left home alone and when she came back three hours later, the hood of a baby wrapper blanket was covering the baby's face and the baby was not breathing, according to officials.
She told the police that she was under mental distress because she, unmarried and unemployed at that time, had to give birth and take care of the baby all alone.
Officials said the mother turned herself in to the police the previous day after getting a call from a regional government office seeking to check on babies who have medical records of birth but no official birth registration.
Police said they will seek a formal arrest warrant for her after further investigation.
The government is currently conducting a nationwide campaign to check the well-being of more than 2,000 undocumented babies born since 2015.
The National Police Agency separately said Friday a total of 780 undocumented baby cases were under police investigation across the nation as of Thursday afternoon.
The police agency said that of the total cases, 11 were under investigation for suspected murder while the location of 677 other babies and whether they are alive remain unknown.
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