Singapore couple wanted in Taiwan for allegedly dumping newborn
Taiwanese authorities have issued an arrest warrant against a couple in Singapore for allegedly dumping the body of a newborn baby girl in a food recycling bin in Taipei two years ago.
Ms Chen Ju-ping, a spokesman for the Taipei district prosecutor's office, told The Straits Times yesterday that the authorities have "enough objective evidence" to find the couple guilty.
They are suspected of homicide and disposal of the baby's body, among other offences.
The woman had allegedly delivered a baby girl on Feb 26, 2019, while holidaying with her boyfriend in Taipei.
The baby's body is said to have been dumped in a food waste bin of a restaurant in Ximending and inadvertently transported by a garbage truck to a recycling plant in Xindian.
The body was found in a garbage bag hours later by a recycling company employee with the placenta and umbilical cord still intact.
Taiwanese authorities reviewed footage from more than 100 closed-circuit television cameras and checked immigration records, which led them to the couple.
They learnt that the couple had checked out of the hotel the same afternoon and flew back to Singapore.
Ms Chen noted that the couple can be arrested only if they enter Taiwan.
In Taiwan, those found guilty of homicide face the death penalty. A mother who kills her newborn may be jailed between six months and five years.
According to Taiwanese law, suspects have to be present for their case to proceed after a warrant is issued for their arrest.
DENIED INVOLVEMENT
When contacted by the media two years ago, the couple denied their involvement in the case.
The woman, now 26, and her boyfriend, now 25, have stayed out of the public eye since the incident, but the man announced on social media on Oct 24 last year that they had gotten engaged.
When ST visited the woman's registered address on Tuesday, a man who looked to be in his 50s declined to speak to the media.
No one answered the door at the male suspect's registered address. Neighbours said it had been a "long time" since they saw him, but said they saw his father at the unit some time before Chinese New Year.
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