Third baby dumping case in Sabah in four days

The newborn baby boy swaddled in a towel.

KOTA KINABALU: Another baby dumping case has taken place in Sabah with the latest occurring in the southwestern Papar district on Tuesday (June 13).

This is the third incident within four days, with the first case recorded last Saturday (June 10).

In the latest case in Papar, a newborn baby boy was found abandoned underneath a house on stilts at Kampung Sapat.

Papar OCPD Deputy Supt Kamaruddin Ambo Sakka said the 52-year-old house owner made the discovery after checking on the sound of a baby crying at about 4am.

He said the man had awakened at the time to go to the loo when he was taken by surprise by the cries.

Unsure what the sound really was, he said, the man waited some 10 minutes but the cries could still be heard.

The man finally gathered up the courage to go down the steps to have a look and found an object moving in the dark.

“He moved towards it and was shocked to see a baby left in the cold of the morning without a single thread on his body,” DSP Kamaruddin said when contacted.

“He immediately called out to his wife to grab a towel to swaddle around the baby,” he added.

The family then alerted the police of the find, he said, adding the baby was later sent to the district hospital for a check-up.

“A medical officer found the baby boy was born less than 24 hours ago and in healthy condition.

"The newborn is reported to be stable and has been placed in the children’s ward,” DSP Kamaruddin said, adding that the Welfare Department has been notified of the matter.

He said the police were in the midst of searching for those responsible for dumping the baby.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 317 of the Penal Code for child abandonment.

He urged those with information to help the probe by visiting the nearest police stations or by contacting the investigating officer Sergeant Noor Azura Linggisan at 016-8262067.

On Saturday (June 10), the body of a newborn baby, with its umbilical cord still attached, was found floating in the Kampung Tanjung Aru Lama water village near here.

Two days later on Monday (June 12), a healthy newborn baby boy was found abandoned on top of a chicken coop in the east coast Lahad Datu district.