BUTTERWORTH: Police have detained a man and his girlfriend for allegedly hiding the death of their baby yesterday.
Seberang Prai Tengah police chief Assistant Commissioner Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid said the 23-year-old man had turned himself in at the Bukit Mertajam police station while the 22-year-old woman was detained.
“We have taken the man into custody while the woman is held at the hospital as she was receiving treatment. We are in the midst of locating the buried baby,” he said.
The woman is said to have given birth to the baby in Permatang Pauh. She claimed that it died after she gave birth to it.
The couple buried the baby boy at the Bagan Dalam Muslim cemetery.
They then went to the Seberang Jaya Hospital as the woman was bleeding.
The doctor had informed police that the couple had hidden the birth of the baby, which prompted the investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 318 of the Penal Code for concealment of birth through the secret disposal of the baby’s dead body.