SANDAKAN: A newborn baby found floating at sea by Kampung Air villagers here yesterday is believed to have died during delivery.
A post-mortem conducted at the Duchess of Kent Hospital revealed that the baby was born several days prior to its discovery.
“There were no external wounds found on the body, which weighed 318 grammes and was 34 centimetres long. There were also no internal injuries discovered during post-mortem.
“However, there were some bruises found on the baby boy’s back, buttocks and legs, which could be due to the process of labour,” said district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azhar Hamin.
Villagers of Kampung Air water village in Karamunting here found the dead newborn, whose umbilical cord was still attached, underneath the Jambatan 4 bridge on Wednesday.
The remains, which were in a box, were retrieved by village folk and police were alerted to the discovery at 8.45am.
“Police have classified the incident as baby dumping. We are investigating the case under Section 318 of the Penal Code (concealment of birth by secret disposal of a dead body),” he added.
Mohd Azhar urged anyone with information on the incident to come forward to assist the police investigation, especially private clinics or midwives with information on any recent deliveries.
They can channel the details to the district police at 089-212222.
