Newborn baby found in Pattaya trash can

A newborn baby was found in a trash can in a middle-class residential area of Pattaya, early on Sunday.

Pol Lt Col Nathawat Ploenchit said the healthy baby boy was discovered by Surachai Kaewpha, 54 years old, who told police that he made the shocking find at about 6am while taking his dog for a morning walk.

Surachai was passing the trash can near a house at the Siri Urai Housing Estate in the Na Klua district when he heard some strange noises coming from inside.

When Surachai looked into the bin, he could not believe what he saw.

The baby boy was wrapped with tissue paper in a plastic bag and was now crying loudly. Surachai immediately called the police who were quickly on the scene with rescue workers.

The newborn baby was taken to Pattaya’s Bang Lamung Hospital.

Rescue worker Thanapong Ok-un told police that about an hour previously the Pattaya rescue unit had received a call for help from a 17-year-old girl.

The girl, who was staying in a room in a house nearby, said she was bleeding, and told rescuers the blood was from menstruation. She was taken to hospital.

An examination of CCTV footage showed a girl walking out of her room before the ambulance crew arrived on the scene, and returning, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Police plan to bring the girl in for questioning.

The abandoned baby, who weighs about 3.7 kilograms, is in the care of doctors at Bang Lamung Hospital.

It is not unusual for newborn babies to be abandoned in Thailand in places where their mothers feel they may be quickly found by passers by.