KOTA KINABALU: The sound of what was thought to be kittens meowing turned out to be the cries of a newborn child.
The discovery was made by a man in his 30s who was walking by a dump site in Sepanggar at about 7pm on Wednesday (Oct 6).
The man told police he began to rummage through the rubbish when he started to suspect that the cries did not belong to cats or other animals.
Kota Kinabalu acting police chief Supt George Rakman said the man immediately alerted police upon seeing the newborn baby boy, wrapped in a blue cloth, among the trash.
The baby was later handed over to medical officials for an examination.
The man said he did not see anyone in the area when he was there.
Supt George said police questioned people living close to the area, including residents of a settlement there, but had yet to get any concrete information on the mother.
“We are still trying to find the mother or next of kin of this baby,” he said when contacted on Thursday (Oct 7).
He said it would be easier to locate the mother if she had given birth in a clinic or even a hospital but it would be difficult if she delivered the baby alone at home or anywhere else.
“We are worried; if the mother is a student, or unmarried woman, it would definitely be more difficult to find out too,” Supt George added.
He urged those with information on the case to inform the nearest police station to help with the investigation.
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