An abandoned newborn baby was found in a trash can by residents in Thailand’s Bang Lamung district.
The police suspect a 17-year-old girl, who was found bleeding and captured on surveillance footage with a plastic bag, could be the child’s mother.
Surachai Kaewpha, 54, found the baby while walking his dog around 6 a.m. Sunday. When he initially heard crying noises, he thought it was a cat, Bangkok Post reported.
He and a neighbor then investigated the trash can, and found a wailing newborn baby boy inside. The infant was wrapped in tissue paper and placed inside a plastic bag.
The residents wrapped the baby in a clean, warm blanket as law enforcement officials arrived at the scene.
An individual named Thanapong Ok-Oun told the police he had received a call about someone in the same area needing medical assistance. Thanapong reportedly works with the Sawangboriboon Thammasathan Foundation, a charity-funded rescue service in the city of Pattaya, according to Thai Examiner.
Thanapong then told the police it was a 17-year-old girl that needed medical assistance.
Officials followed a trail of blood along with placental membrane and arrived at an apartment, where the 17-year-old girl was found. She said she was bleeding because of a heavy period.
The same teenager was captured on surveillance footage coming down the stairs of a building, wearing a white T-Shirt and a towel. She had a plastic bag in her hand as she was filmed coming out of the building.
Footage also showed the 17-year-old walking back inside the building and leaving behind a trail of blood.
The girl was rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention after the officials found her.
Officials suspect the teenager is the abandoned baby’s mother and will summon her for further investigation.
The newborn baby remains at the hospital.
A similar incident was reported earlier this month after a newborn baby was found abandoned in a homeless encampment in Arizona. The dead baby, who was estimated to be at a gestational age of 20 to 24 weeks, was found in the middle of a street in a large homeless encampment in Phoenix. The authorities believe the baby was burned before a resident found the remains and called 911.
