Newborn Baby Thrown In Garbage Chute Survives Fall

Police have arrested a Filipina housemaid who tried to kill her newborn baby by throwing him through a refuse chute from the ninth floor of a building on Monday morning.

The baby boy miraculously survived the fall in a building in Al Majaz area in Sharjah, a senior Sharjah Police confirmed on Tuesday.

“An Asian family had illegally recruited the suspect to work for them as a housemaid, without knowing anything about her past or how she came about to work in the country,” said Brigadier Abdullah Mubarak Al Dukhan, Deputy Director of Sharjah Police.

The family, which consisted of a couple and their five-year-old son, were shocked to learn about the crime when they returned home at around midday.

“Within three hours of reporting the incident, we were able to arrest the suspect even though she tried to conceal her crime,” stressed Brig Al Dukhan.

According to Sharjah Police, the incident took place sometime between 4am and 5am when the housemaid started to feel strong labour pains. While the family were fast asleep, the suspect crept into one of the bathrooms and cut the umbilical cord with a kitchen knife.

The 26-year-old housemaid, 26, then wrapped the newborn with newspaper and put him in a plastic bag, before throwing him in the rubbish chute.

“She assumed that the height [from which the baby was dropped] would kill him instantly, but it was a miracle that the baby survived,” said Brigadier Al Dukhan.

“The watchman was going around on his regular morning rounds at 6am and was throwing out rubbish from the aluminium container when to his surprise, he found a baby lying on top of rubbish bags,” he explained.

The watchman then contacted Buheira Police Station and a police patrol and ambulance were also dispatched to the scene of the incident, to transfer the baby to Al Qasimi Hospital.

Once the hospital provides the baby with all the necessary vaccinations and is issued a medical file, he will be sent under the care of Sharjah Social Services.

Brigadier Al Dukhan said that the baby sustained minor scratches and bruises and was in a stable condition.

A team from the Criminal and Investigation Department (CID) at Sharjah Police then went to investigate the crime scene and find out the identity of the baby’s mother.

During the preliminary investigation, evidence clearly indicated that the mother lived in one of the apartments of the building.

The Filipina housemaid was soon arrested and during questioning, she confessed that she got pregnant out of wedlock with a man who lived in another country, and had hid her pregnancy from her employers.

“After completing the legal procedures, we also found out that the suspect was reported to have absconded from her previous sponsor and that she was working illegally for the Asian family. The couple will be subjected to the law and face a penalty for their role in employing an illegal resident,” Brigadier Al Dukhan said.

The case will be referred to Sharjah Public Prosecution. [GN]