CNA file photo

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) A 39-year-old woman was indicted Monday on charges of manslaughter after giving birth to a baby boy in a hotel room toilet in Taichung, resulting in his death from drowning and abandonment.

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office said the woman, identified only by her surname Liu (劉), deliberately went into labor, after checking into a hotel in the central Taiwanese city, with the help of a male friend surnamed Chen (陳) in April this year.

According to prosecutors, they checked into the hotel using false identities around 4 a.m. that day.

After four hours, the man left.

Liu later gave birth to the baby in the toilet, prosecutors said.

Around 4 p.m. that day, she checked out of the hotel. A janitor responsible for cleaning the room later found the baby dead in the toilet, and the bedsheets stained with blood, according to prosecutors.

Liu and Chen were later tracked down by police and brought in for questioning.

Liu denied she was pregnant and said she had never experienced sexual intercourse before.

She claimed the blood stains were due to her menstrual period, but she acknowledged that she and Chen had checked into the hotel room using fake IDs.

Results from DNA tests later showed that the baby was her son, confirming that Liu did go into labor in the hotel room that day and abandoned the baby in the toilet, causing his death, according to prosecutors.

Liu was consequently indicted on charges of manslaughter.

The district office said she should have sought help from a nearby hospital knowing that she was getting close to going into labor.

As for Chen, prosecutors said he told the authorities he decided to help Liu after seeing her looking weak and walking on a street alone. He said he purchased food for her and took her to the hotel, admitting they registered under fake names.

Chen has not been indicted.

(By Chao Li-yan and Ko Lin)
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