Woman in China gives birth in lift, dumps newborn in rubbish bin

Moments after giving birth in a lift, a woman in China abandoned her baby in a rubbish bin. 

The woman was on holiday in Chongqing when she gave birth in a residential building, The Global Times reported on Saturday (Aug 26).

CCTV footage of the incident showed the woman wheeling a suitcase into a lift at 8.44pm on Aug 21. Seconds later, she crouched down in the corner of the lift before standing up with a baby cradled in her arms.

With a tissue in hand, she then attempted to wipe off the blood on the baby and the soles of her shoes, as well as the stains on the lift's floor.

When the lift came to a stop at 8.47pm, the woman swiftly walked out and dumped her newborn into a rubbish bin at the lift lobby. In hopes of covering her tracks, she reportedly tossed more tissues into the bin to hide the baby.

An elderly man who noticed her suspicious behaviour stopped and peered into the bin, but failed to notice the baby covered by tissues, Asia Television reported.

After checking that the man had left, the woman wiped off the stains on her shoes again and left via another lift.

The newborn was taken to a hospital later that night after residents discovered the baby and called the police for help.

According to hospital staff, the baby was discharged after a few days and is now back in the care of the woman and her partner.

"During the baby's hospital stay, the child's mother and grandmother had been visiting," the staff said.

Netizens were horrified by the woman's actions, with one commenting that she was "heartless".

"The poor child was just born yet abandoned like this," a netizen wrote.

"She threw the baby into the rubbish bin like a piece of trash," another exclaimed.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com