Dead fetus kept in fridge for over 2 months
2015/06/04 22:27:29
Taipei, June 4 (CNA) A woman in the eastern county of Hualien has kept her stillborn fetus in her refrigerator freezer for more than two months, police found Thursday.
A woman, identified only by her surname Liu, told police she put her over four-month-old dead fetus in the freezer at her home in Hualien some two months ago because she had no money and no idea how to deal with it.
The case was brought to light as the police were probing a lawsuit over an extra-marital affair. Police discovered that Liu, married with three daughters, became impregnated by a man at her work but miscarried when she was four months pregnant.
Liu took her stillborn fetus back home after it was determined by doctors at Mennonite Christian Hospital to be deceased.
Liu is her family's sole breadwinner, while her husband and two of her daughters are certified as either mentally or physically challenged.
The hospital said it would have cremated the fetus if it had been gestating for less than 20 weeks. For fetuses that have been gestating longer, the hospital said it will either leave the fetus to a funeral parlor or return it to the family to make arrangements at their discretion.
The police said it will conduct a DNA test on the fetus to ascertain its biological father and further investigate the circumstances of the miscarriage.
(By Lee Hsien-feng and Scully Hsiao)