Woman drops newborn in rubbish bin after giving birth in lift

The woman can be seen removing a baby from the bottom of her clothing in the shared footage.- SCREENGRAB FROM WEIBO

BEIJING (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): After giving birth inside the lift of a residential building in China, a woman threw the newborn in a rubbish bin.

The unnamed woman, who was on a holiday in Chongqing, entered a lift carrying a suitcase on Aug 21, according to CCTV footage as reported in local media.

She was wearing overalls and crouched in a corner. She can be seen removing a baby from the bottom of her clothing in the shared footage.

The woman then used tissue paper to wipe the blood off the baby, her shoes and the lift floor, reported Chinese news outlet Huanqiu.com on Saturday.

After the lift came to a stop, the woman exited and dumped the baby in a lobby rubbish bin. She also used tissue paper to hide the discarded newborn, said Huanqiu.

An elderly man, who happened to be at the lobby, noticed the woman’s strange behaviour and looked into the bin, added the report. However, the man did not see the baby.

The woman later wiped off the blood stains on her shoes and left the lobby through another lift.

Later that night, the baby, still alive, was found by residents, who called the police for help. The baby was taken to hospital.

A hospital staff, who was not identified, was quoted by Huanqiu as saying that the baby was discharged a few days later and is now back with the woman and her partner.

The district police told Chinese news outlet Qilu Evening News that the baby was doing well. However, due to privacy concerns, they were unable to share further details.

The incident caused outrage on Chinese social media platforms.

One netizen on microblogging platform Weibo said that the woman was inhumane.

“It is easier to give birth to a child than to lay an egg. She is merciless in throwing away her flesh and blood. She is not as good as a beast,” said the netizen.

Another netizen, writing on the same social media platform, added: “For such irresponsible parents, even if the baby is taken away, it will be bad luck.”