Beijing: A woman secretly delivered the baby in a restroom. She claimed the newborn accidentally slipped into the toilet.
The infant has been released into the care of the mother
A baby boy who made news around the world when he became trapped in a sewer pipe after his mother said she gave birth while on a toilet left the hospital Wednesday evening -- and no charges will be filed, the China News Agency reported Thursday, citing local authorities in east China's Zhejiang province.Local police said evidence supports the woman's claims, the agency said.Police said the infant's 22-year-old mother, as well as his grandparents and the man purported to be the child's father, will take care of the child. However, the man said he intends to verify whether the child is actually his or not, the agency reported.
The woman, who had kept her pregnancy secret, gave birth to the baby Saturday in a squat toilet in her apartment in Jinhua.
Firefighters and doctors successfully rescued the infant from a U-shaped pipe that it had become lodged in. In video footage that went viral, officials were shown removing the pipe from a ceiling that apparently was just below the restroom and then, at the hospital, using pliers and saws to gently pull apart the pipe, which was about about 3 inches in diameter.
The baby, who weighed 6 pounds, 2.8 ounces, had a low heart rate and some minor abrasions on his head and limbs and was kept in an incubator at the Pujiang People's Hospital.
The police said the woman told them that she rushed to the toilet after experiencing stomach pain and subsequently gave birth to the baby. Police said the woman tried to grab the newborn before it fell into the toilet, but its body was too slippery and evaded her grasp.
She then alerted her landlord and asked for assistance, police told the agency.
The Associated Press reports that Jinhua Evening News tells a slightly different tale. That paper reported that the woman did not admit that she was the mother until two days later when confronted by police who had found baby toys and blood-stained tissues in her apartment, the Evening News reported.
Police later concluded that the woman did not initially come forward because she was frightened, but that she later started telling the truth, the Evening News and a Pujiang County propaganda official said. The police initially treated the case as a possible attempted homicide, but now are unlikely to file criminal charges, the newspaper and official said.
Officials have not released the names of anyone connected with the case.
Duan Wanjin, a criminal lawyer based in Xi'an, told the AP that local police erred in not prosecuting the mother. He said she could be charged with attempted homicide for not immediately calling for help after the newborn became stuck.
"The local police may have considered the woman was still young and did not have any malice, and have come to the decision from the human perspective, but it sends a terrible signal to the public," Duan told the AP.
Sociologist Li Yinhe said the only mistake by the woman was not to immediately admit the baby was hers. "I don't think that's a big deal. After all, the child is safe, and it has a happy ending," Li told the AP. "The Chinese people still lean heavily on the human considerations. Let it be bygones if there's no serious crime." |
