Distressing story behind this photo of shopping bag on bench
A crying newborn baby was found abandoned in a reusable shopping bag on a park bench by a jogger.
The boy, who is believed to be about seven days old, was heard crying next to a flower bed in Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday morning (local time).
CCTV shows the woman, believed to be the infant’s mother, carrying the infant while walking over to the bench at 5:39am (local time) and putting him down.
Passer-by Ratchanee Berit, 68, said she was jogging when she heard soft baby cries in the public park a few hours later.
The curious pensioner followed the sounds which led her to a wooden bench beside a palm tree and was shocked after finding a shopping bag with a baby inside.
The baby was wearing pink clothes wrapped in a pink towel. Nappies, hygienic wipes and a bottle of milk were also found inside the bag.
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"I was jogging in the park when I saw the poor baby. I checked him first before calling the emergency services. I am glad I could find him before anything bad happened,” the pensioner said.
Paramedics rushed to give the baby first aid before transferring him to a nearby hospital for a health check-up.
Phuket police officers are now investigating and looking for the mother through birth documents in local hospitals.
The woman is seen in the black-and-white video wearing a knee-length dress with the number '88' on the back and handbag next to her waist.
Officers are now trying to retrace her footsteps.
"We will look for evidence to find the person who did this. It is possible that the mother is struggling with the economy that's why she did this. We will look at all possible motives,” Patong Police Chief Col Aganit Danpitaksat said.
He said the baby did “not appear to have suffered any injuries” and was now being cared for in hospital.
– Australscope
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