SINGAPORE : A woman who had been accused of throwing her day-old
baby down a rubbish chute walked free on Friday.
Prosecutors had applied for the charges of infanticide against her
to be dropped, which the courts allowed.
On February 27 this year, a day-old baby girl was found dead in the
rubbish chute of a block of flats in Toa Payoh.
Standing accused of her death was the baby's mother - 23-year-old
undergraduate Koh Kailin.
Koh was charged with the rarely heard of offence of infanticide -
which only applies to a woman who causes the death of her child
under a year old.
An autopsy report has since found that the infant had died in the
mother's womb at about 5 to 6 months of gestation.
After Koh gave birth, the body was then placed in a plastic bag and
thrown into the common rubbish chute from the 18th floor of the
block.
Koh, who is believed to be a Singapore Management University final
year student, was said to be under duress, and not fully recovered
from childbirth at the time of the incident.
On Friday, her neighbours said they have not yet seen her since her
release.
One neighbour said, "My impression of her is that she is very
friendly. When we meet her, she will say hi."
Another commented, "She is like a good girl. I don't think she will
do such a thing." - CNA/ms
