Foreign caregiver found to be mother of abandoned dead newborn in Chiayi

Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Police on Saturday apprehended a foreign caregiver who admitted to giving birth to a baby whose body was found in an animal feed sack outside her employer's home in Chiayi County, authorities said later that day.

According to the Puzi Precinct, officers received a report at around 10 a.m. on Saturday that a baby's body had been discovered at a residence in Gengliao Village, Liujiao Township.

Officers immediately went to the scene, where they confirmed that the body was that of a newborn who had already died.

Citing the person who reported the case, police said he had been visiting his parents when his mother mentioned that the Indonesian caregiver hired to look after his father appeared to be pregnant.

The man then saw a suspicious feed bag near the house's perimeter wall. After opening it, he discovered the body of a newborn inside and immediately called the police.

Police said they formed a task force and reported the case to district prosecutors, who launched an investigation that eventually located the caregiver and arrested her at the Chiayi High-Speed Rail Station on Saturday night.

During questioning at the precinct, the caregiver admitted to giving birth to the baby, police said, but the reasons for the abandonment are still under investigation.

Afterward, she was referred to the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of abandonment resulting in death, police added.

The prosecutors office said the body showed no external injuries and appeared to be a full-term infant.

It remains unclear whether the baby was born alive or stillborn, the office said. An autopsy will be conducted at a later date to determine the cause of death.