crime

Newborn baby found abandoned in dry riverbed

25 Comments

A newborn baby boy, with his umbilical cord still attached, was found in a dry riverbed in Higashi-murayama, Tokyo, on Thursday morning.

Police said a woman mowing grass nearby called 119 at around 9:30 a.m. to report that a baby had been left in the riverbed. Fuji TV reported that police found the infant wrapped in a towel in a 12-cm-deep hole that had been dug in the riverbed.

The child was taken to hospital and was in a stable condition late Thursday, police said.

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25 Comments
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Either do a much better job of disposing of your baby so nobody will find it (bad option), or wrap it up and leave it in front of a convenient store, koban or anything open at the hour you want to leave it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Baby Hatches date back over one millennia in Europe, most are run by the church. The one in Kumamoto too is in a private Christian Hospital.

Fully agree more are needed here but government doesn't seem interested. Not sure what the legal procedures are.

Recall when they got introduced in South Africa there were soon dozens all over the show.

Kumamoto is just too far away for most I guess.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

every main hospital in japan should have a baby hatch

In addition to hospitals, EMS services, fire stations, police departments, child protection services, etc., should serve as "safe havens" for mothers to leave unwanted newborns (without fear of prosecution). The "safe haven" concept works well in the US (see http://www.nationalsafehavenalliance.org/maps/).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

i really hope the monster parents of this little boy are tracked down and severely punished. the families of the animals that did this should be punished, too. complete lack of any shred of humanity, and should be treated as such

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@stocktrader

All I can do here is repeat myself...

If having kids worked for you, fine ! If it worked for other people, fine !

Just stop selling having kids as a guarantee to happiness, because it clearly is not.

Cases of infanticide, child abandonment, child abuse show that it doesn't work for everyone.

"If you don't have kids, than you only live life for yourself."

What about teachers, nurses, doctors, philantropist, scientists etc... working for the betterment of society or humanity ? (and for your kids by the way)

I could also argue about the selfishness of making children to make yourself feel good, have a mini-version of yourself or having someone to take care of you when you're old...

Point is, you can live a fulfilled, happy and useful life even if you don't have kids.

For the record, the fact that this person abandoned the baby "in a 12-cm-deep hole that had been dug in the riverbed" shows that the goal was to kill it, and this should absolutely be condemned.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Bintaro

I guess you don't have kids, so I don't think you can catch just how wonderful of a thing it is. If you have kids, you live your life for your kids, as like every other generation has done since the beginning. If you don't have kids, than you only live life for yourself, which is selfish. Selfishness isn't a bad thing. It is what it is. Best to be responsible and recognize it.

All I know is I'm glad I won't be some 40 year old childless man. I can't even fathom how someone could do this to a little cute baby. You really have to have a dark heart and no concept of value of life to do this.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I'm just glad he was found alive. I love babies.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If people are going to abandon a baby they should leave it where it's guaranteed to be found quickly. At least it'll be given a chance at life.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@commenteer - Or, to break it down in reverse again, about one baby per week per prefecture. Half of whom will go back to their parents.

Please read my post again. The half that were returned were already calculated into the equation. It means, two babies per week per prefecture, that are not returned. However, I do agree that, if it stops babies being abandoned in river beds, dumpsters and toilets it is worth it although, I fear Japanese society could not live with the shame of a thousand babies a year being dumped at baby hatches, which is why they are not in every prefecture.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

 That's over a thousand babies a year. Now you can understand why they are not in every prefecture.

Or, to break it down in reverse again, about one baby per week per prefecture. Half of whom will go back to their parents. It's not an overbearing burden if that's what you were getting at. Certainly a cheap price to pay to avoid babies being left to die in riverbeds or dumpsters.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everything else is simply selfishness.

One should examine the possible scenarios before making such a naive statement. It's most likely the mother was a teenager. There are very few options for teenagers in Japan. Yes, they may have an abortion, which costs around ¥150-200,000, which is the kind of money teenagers cannot lay their hands on easily. If the mother is under 16 years old she must have parental consent. Add to this, the indignity of a condescending and exclusive society it becomes easier to understand why this scenario keeps repeating itself. I am in no way condoning her choice of abandoning the baby, but I'm just considering what would lead a mother to do such a horrid thing.

The one baby hatch in Kumamoto has received nearly 250 babies and toddlers in the five years since it opened, half of which were returned to their parents. Half of the babies surrendered came from neighbouring prefectures. Therefore, by the statistics, if there was a baby hatch in every one of the 47 prefectures it is quite possible that over 5,500 babies (47 x 125 = 5,875) could have been surrendered nationwide in the past five years. That's over a thousand babies a year. Now you can understand why they are not in every prefecture.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Having kids is the best part about life. 

Sure, that's why infanticide or child abuse don't exist...

Everything else is simply selfishness.

Selfish to whom or to what ? I heard this argument countless times and it still doesn't make any sense.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

every main hospital in japan should have a baby hatch.

of course i feel sorry for the little one, but i am more concerned about the mental and physical state of the mother. she probably can't just go to a hospital and get treatment. of course they will ask were her baby is. also she must of been pretty desperate to do such a heinous crime.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Man oh man! This makes my heart bleed, reading this. Having kids is the best part about life. Everything else is simply selfishness.

-10 ( +0 / -10 )

My child is not a burden.

Lucky you !

Ok...then a hospital, or an adoption agency...somewhere safe that's NOT a dry riverbed.

I agree, but the question now is why these persons don't do that ? As this is not an isolated case.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

My child is not a burden.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Ok...then a hospital, or an adoption agency...somewhere safe that's NOT a dry riverbed.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

How can anyone do this? Just go to a baby hatch, and make sure that the baby is in right hands....

As far as I know there is only one baby hatch in all Japan, so unless you live in Kumamoto, you're screwed. The problem is not that these persons don't go to a baby hatch, it's that they can't.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

How can anyone do this? Just go to a baby hatch, and make sure that the baby is in right hands....geez!

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

No matter how scared and confused you are, you never leave a new born baby out to the elements.

I hope Moses leads a fulfilled life.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Bad start in life. I hope the boy will find a loving family.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Thank God he's okay, or we would have heard that "How do we know he wasn't stillborn" crap. Here's hoping he doesn't find out what his mother did.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Still alive so happy, this guy will grow up to be big and strong unlike the devils the parents are.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Thankfully, this boy is still alive. I dare say he wouldn't have been alive if he was not discovered early in the morning. A couple of hours in the summer sun would have ended his life pretty quickly.

I get so sick of reading articles like this. It happens nearly every day!

6 ( +9 / -3 )

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