SINGAPORE - A 28-year-old Indonesian maid was sentenced to 10 weeks jail and $2,000 fine in court today for burying her newborn baby alive.
Indriani, who goes by one name, is also charged with overstaying in Singapore for 273 days after her S-pass expired on July 19, 2010.
She had given birth to the baby boy at a rooftop garden at Blk 31A Eunos Crescent in the early hours of April 18 2011.
She then carried the baby to some potted plants nearby, tied a black plastic bag around his neck and buried him in the soil.
About 11 hours later, Mr Tay King Sia, 60, discovered the baby, who was still alive.
When delivering the sentence, District Judge Sarjit Singh said he recognised the offences were serious but he had taken into consideration Indriani's mental condition at the time they were committed.
She arrived in Singapore in March last year and worked as a foreign domestic worker in her employers' home.
But she ran away four months later and took shelter at various parks over the next few months.
Indriani then turned to prostitution in Geylang to support herself.
In October 2010, she realised that she was pregnant but did not know who the father of the child was.
Investigations showed that she grew increasingly desperate to return home to Indonesia and with the assistance of a few individuals, went to the Indonesian Embassy on April 14, 2011.
However, she was turned away at the gate as she did not have a passport.
She then wandered around the Eunos area the next few days. On the night of April 17 this year, Indriani experienced sharp abdominal pains and realised that she was in labour.
She then went to the rooftop garden at Blk 31A Eunos Cresent where she took two tablets from a slab of medicine she found amongst some rubbish.
She then gave birth to the child around 2 am to 2.30 am.
After burying the child in the soil of potted plants nearby, she willfully abandoned the child. She was arrested on April 24.
The child has since been placed in foster care.
"I think there is a baby here, can you come and check"
Mr Tay King Sia was at the roof of Blk 31A Eunos Crescent when he heard soft cries coming from the bushes.
Shin Min Dailiy News reported in April that he had first dismissed the cries as a cat's.
But the retiree soon realised there were no animals nearby and investigated the source. He discovered a pair of legs sticking out from the ground.
He immediately dug the soil at the spot and he then discovered a baby boy in the 10cm deep hole.
"I asked my friend to come and take a look, I thought it was a doll at first," said Mr Tay.
His umbilical cord was still attached.
Miraculously, the baby was still breathing, but was very weak.
