crime

Woman arrested after trying to flush infant down toilet in Nagoya

49 Comments

Police on Sunday arrested a woman who allegedly tried to flush her infant son down a toilet. A police spokesperson said that Ritsuko Taniguchi, 33, gave birth three months prematurely in her apartment bathroom on Saturday.

Police said that Taniguchi, who was single and lived alone, apparently put the 880-gram baby head first in the toilet and tried to flush him. The child died and its body blocked the toilet. Taniguchi called a plumber, telling him it was a doll, but he was suspicious and called police later. Police said the woman will be changed with abandonment of a body.

© Wire reports

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49 Comments
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No, superesonator, this woman was SELFISH. She was thinking of herself above everything else. She couldn't have a baby inconveniencing her life, just as the millons of other women here in this country and elsewhere in the Technologically Advanced World, which is why they usually kill their babies before they are born (read abortion). She was selfish, plain and simple....

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Have you never heard of Post Natal Depression? It can, and sadly does, lead to awful tragedies such as these.

My my, what did we ever do before we invented Post Natal Depression? Had big happy families I seem to recall. The pharmaceuticals doled out to sufferers of your trendy pseudo-diseases are causing far more murders, as I read in the US papers.

I would wager this woman had her head-full with post alcohol abuse and or prescription medication depression. That of course is omitted from the story.

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frontandcentre:

This person was clearly in a severely distressed state and needs urgent help. Have you never heard of Post Natal Depression? It can, and sadly does, lead to awful tragedies such as these. Please think before you are so swift to thoughtlessly and heartlessly condemn people

I understand that she might need help. But what I get confused about is how she tried to cover it up. She is so sick that she tried to flush the baby in the tolite. That is how the baby died. The body was too big so she called the plummer to fix the clog. She told the plummer it was a doll. So how does she go from needing help to covering up a crime so fast. I think she knew what she was doing and got caught. If the body didn't get stuck it no one would have ever known. That is why I think she should go to jail FOREVER. If she would killed the baby then called for help or reached out to someone I would have another opnion but she tired to cover up the whole thing. She is not crazy she is just a bad person.

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theguynextdoor:

Don't care about the state of mind, or whatever anyone wants to put out there...she was smart enough to open her legs and get pregnant, she knew damn well what she was doing. She will burn in hell...

Well, how VERY understanding of you. This person was clearly in a severely distressed state and needs urgent help. Have you never heard of Post Natal Depression? It can, and sadly does, lead to awful tragedies such as these. Please think before you are so swift to thoughtlessly and heartlessly condemn people

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Zen_Builder - You can crow-cry at those Judeo-Christian values, and de-value, defame, and in any other way belittle them all you choose, but I defy you and any other skeptic to give a good, tangible, BELIEVABLE reason why this woman offed her baby in such a horrid, ruthless, terrible way....and don't even begin to say she was mental or psychotic on some abstract way. She was sane enough to call the plumber to try to fix her baby-clogged toilet, and as far as her age goes, I know of several dozen 33-year-old women who'd have wished to have been in her place, expecting a baby. And just so Zen_Builder knows, the so-called "radical Christian right" doesn't judge by "their" values, but byt he values of Jesus Christ....

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Excuses.....she had the baby early and instead of going for medical attention she tried to flush it. I learned a long time ago that I can just flush my problems away. She should sit in a small jail cell and learn the same for about 50 - 60 years. Let her out when she can't have anymore kids.

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Dudenextdoor, I agree with you and Cmeandu this is stupid and she should be taking out to a gun line and shot to death or torture to death for killing an innocent child that never got the chance to enjoy his or her short lived life. If she didn't want the baby she should have never had spreaded her legs and allow the guy next door to get her pregnant, or maybe she some issues but suck it up and take care of your kid. Why killed the baby, how about an attempt at adoption or having an abortion. I guess she is going to say she heard voice telling her to kill the baby or some BS like that.

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All that needed to be known is she tried to kill her child. I'm not judging anyone on here, but people do make excuses for people like this.

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Funny how the radical christian right tries to judge everything by their values. Yet, Japan does not follow the judeo-christian-islamic morals and value set.

Actually happy that the christians are in a minority here. As for her actions There is not enough info that the JT article to make any form of judgement.

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Cmeandu...i agree. Give her the rope and let her drope. It was a child!!! Don't care about the state of mind, or whatever anyone wants to put out there...she was smart enough to open her legs and get pregnant, she knew damn well what she was doing. She will burn in hell...

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Spare me the moral rhetoric here. There are many religious married people who are out having fun sex with other parteners not their spouse. This is not a daily every person occurrence here but there will always be people out there who will make such a choice for whatever reason like this women did. Sad and cruel as it is, this woman decided to abandon her child in a gruesome manner. I don't see what relevance all this have sex only when yu egt married talk as though this stops people from making bad choices.

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tkyosam - Is this not a public forum? Is this not a place to post opinion and debate? Forgive me if I choose to live in Japan and not East Germany or Red China, and express my views as I chose. When you, tkyosam, become dictator of anywhere other than your own house or room, let me know so I can leave to go to a place where freedom of expression is still protected by law.

As far as my views, why not rebut them, instead of tarrign and feathering the messenger?

Again, all three of the areas I posted above are the reasons for this tragedy....

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I know that saying this is goign to get a lot of heat, probably, but it must be said: I blame this sick death of a baby on three areas:

(1.) The Idea of Evolution - when people are constantly taught and drileld in the belief that man came from a cesspool of amino acids and that human life evolved upwards, this sort of killing will happen. After all, if people are taught by tewachers, professors, society, and science at large that mankind is no more than glorified pondscum, how can anyone state that human life is any more precious than that of a fly or a gnat? However, if people are taught that Man is created in the Image of God, then human life becomes much more precious...

(2.) The Acceptance and Preaching of Sex (and other bad choices in life) without Consequences - Face it, folks: this sad end to the life of a baby is precisely because Ms. Taniguchi was taught by everyone around her, society and school included, that sex is fun, that she should do it with whomever she chooses, whenever she chooses, and to not worry about the consequecnes of sex apart from marriage. Really, what Ms. Taniguchi did is no different than what happens every single day in the majority of the world with regards to abortion. How many other 6-month-pregnant women killed their babies thanks in large part to society's preaching of sex without consequences....or any bad choice without consequences, for that matter? Why is it that people are getting in such a tizzy because this woman -- in reality -- did absolutely nothing different than what millions of other 6-month-pregnant women do each and every day in the Technologically advanced world??????

(3.) Selfishness - Ultimately, this is exactly why Ms. Taniguchi killed her baby: she was merely being selfish. And why was she so selfish? Again, society at large preaches self above all else. "Have it your, right away!" "Obey your thirst!" How many other selfish slogans are out there, perpetrated by an uncontrolled media, and supported by a society that wants what it wants whenever it can get it? In reality, Ms. Taniguchi was following the god of this day and age: self. Only when people start to look out for the needs of others -- particularly the helpless and most vulnerable in this world (babies and children) will things like this cease happening. Really, once people start doing things God's way again, will instances of such brutality begin to cease.

This death of this baby is a tragedy of the worst kind, but, unfortunately, more and more of this will continue to happen so long as thwe above three areas are left to themselves. We can point fingers all we like, come up with Baby Hutch/Hatch alternatives (which really is just another symptom of selfishness gone amok) all we want, but all the solutions and alternatives this world can offer will come to nothing so long as God is left out of the picture....

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Doesn't matter where the father's are. Why didn't she go to the hospital? Was it a secret? Really stupied. I can care less about her frame of mind. She was smart enough to have the baby in the bathroom and not call anyone. She knew what she was doing. Give her the rope and let her drop.

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You are exactly the type of person that prevents these kinds of horrible acts from being stopped

Really? How, exactly?

Your hysterical post certainly doesn't add any weight to your opinions. Things in life are rarely black and white, and I certainly wouldn't want to judge this woman without knowing more about the circumstances of the situation (indeed, it isn't my place to judge at all). I hope you never find yourself in a position where you're reliant on someone's compassion....

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Zaichik... spare me the sob story !

"It doesn't sound like this woman was in a normal frame of mind"

yeh right, like anyone that would try to flush a newborn down the toilet is in "their normal state of mind". God you J apologists sometimes sicken me to no end ! What a bunch of horse krap you spew here...

"The fact that the balance of this woman's mind was probably disturbed at the time"

yada-yada-yada ! Its people like Z-chik that enable more and more of these types of crime. Yes Zai... you are an enabler ! Look yerself in the mirror and come to grips with it ! You are exactly the type of person that prevents these kinds of horrible acts from being stopped ! You make lame ass excuses for sickening behaviour because ??? I dunno !

Please stop and take the time to consider "Z" that you are here today because someone made the decision "not" to flush you down a tiolet !

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It doesn't sound like this woman was in a normal frame of mind - hardly surprising, given that childbirth is not an everyday experience. Maybe she was in denial about the whole pregnancy. The fact that the balance of this woman's mind was probably disturbed at the time should certainly be taken into account by the authorities.

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I've got so much pent up rage over this story I don't know where to begin ! So how about a full fledged volley at the social ills that have gripped Japan, the nation !

First, why was this women not taken to a hospital ? Probably because they were all full ??? Or maybe she lost faith in the whole system and just tried to DIY ? Or maybe she induced the labor to abort the pregnancy ? Whatever the case, why wasn't there anyone around to adequately supervise and counsel this woman ?

Where's the husband/father ? At 33 you'd think this women and her partner would be more responsible... but then again !

The absolute cold and callouse way this creature tried to rid herself of this child calls for nothing short of severe punishment... jail time, like for murder ! Good god woman... a miscarraige is not illegal, and Japan has opened baby chutes for unwanteds... what the hell were you thinking ? Obviously nothing !

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They ain't fathers, Sarge. Just...sires. And that's why they're AWOL.

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"Where are the fathers in these cases?"

AWOL!

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Pretty sick indeed! I think of all the things to take into account on this incident is what papasmurfinjapan mentioned. Screaming execution when you havent got to the bottom of all of this is not something i agree with. Many thoughts run through my head for this one like: What was she doing at home alone giving birth? Did she want to at home? Maybe she gave birth and it either was dead on arrival then the sight of it all made her switch..if so its wrong but she needs help. Either that or it was born, alive but something flipped the switch. Overall what the heck stopped her from getting to hospital or an ambulance? This is the most twsited bit of news i've ever seen

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this has to be one of the sickest stories I have heard in Japan. I have heard of things like this in the states, but I thought stuff like this wouldn't happen anywhere else.

between this and the other story in the world section, I can stop getting the chills.

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Sick sick SICK!! She should be charged with MURDER, given that the baby WAS alive when it was born but DIED when she tried to flush it down the toilet!!

I have zero sympathy for this woman!

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Nutsagain, just read my previous post again. You missed the entire paragraph below my quote to your post.

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Where are the fathers in these cases?

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This is a rare, but not unheard of case.

Google: about 178,000 for flush baby toilet

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Officers said they found the baby's body in a plastic bag in Taniguchi's apartment but the exact time and cause of death were not established yet.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2008/04/28/1209234699619.html

(AFP)

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Numerous times a week we here about some woman killing her child in some sick way.

When was the last time anyone heard of a Japanese guy killing his kid and flushing the body down the toilet? True, it does happen occasionly - a guy killing his kids - but nothing like the rate of Japanese women who kill their kids. You could argue that Japanese usually don't kill their kids because they spend most of their time at the office, away from their family...

...But I always see Japanese guys on the train taking their kids to play baseball or something and just hanging out with their kids and actually talking to them. I rarely see Japanese women spending time with their kids like that; most of the time the women look like they wanna kill themselves.

This country needs serious help.

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Azrael. Asleep? No, wide awake and yes, this does happen much more than any of would like to hear about... Read on.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295063,00.html

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Sick... and its only monday in Japan.

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nutsagain at 10:41 AM JST - 28th April

This is a rare, but not unheard of case. As dreadful as it is to recall, I can remember a few stories overseas of women giving birth in toilets. Suffice to say these people are seriously demented and probably beyond all help.

You were still asleep when you wrote that, didn't you. Do you know the birth canal is between the legs and gravity is a powerful force? Most women who have given birth in toilets did so by accident, not by choice. Once the baby gets in the birth canal, it's incredibly painful and extremely difficult for a woman to bend her body to get up, not to mention the fear of hurting the baby.

There is an important difference between giving birth in a toilet and trying to flush a baby down a toilet. Indeed, there is.

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Alfie in Tokyo,

What precisely would that (putting her away for a long time) achieve?

If it's discovered that the woman is responsible for her actions, and it was murder, and not a terrible accident, then at the very least it would probably stop her reoffending, and send a clear message to others that this kind of thing is wrong. It's all quite simple, at least on paper.

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fireant,

I agree that she probably isn't blessed in the brains department and is, ultimately, responsible for the death of her child (unless it was stillborn, which IS a possibility). But how responsible I do not know, and neither do the police apparently.

Perhaps she didn't have labour pains. It happens. Perhaps, being three months premature, she thought the labour pains were a stomach cramp after some dodgy gyoza? She gave birth in a bathroom? Are we talking an actual bathroom, or a toilet? Perhaps she was on the toilet, thinking she was constipated when her poor boy popped out. Being 880gms he would have been tiny, covered in blood. Possibly the placenta came out too and landed on top of him. Maybe she didn't notice until it was too late. Maybe this is all just a tragic accident, and she panicked instead of calling an ambulance.

I'm just saying we don't know enough about what happened to call for her execution just yet.

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papasmurfinjapan,

no-one who was there to help this woman.

Well, she is 33 years old. Old enough, I presume, to take care of herself. But apparently not capable of understanding labor pains - pity she didn't go to a hospital with the onset of labor. Pity more that the poor child had 0 chance at a life. A baby hatch wouldn't've have helped in this case, I'm afraid.

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A life: It would keep her out of the general population, and hopefully prevent her from giving birth to another child and possibly doing it again. I would actually prefer to see her executed. But I know how the comments would be on that.

If she is locked up, she can then reflect on her actions. I am sure that there is the post partem depression that can occur. But, I think that the actions of the lady show that she had some mental issues. If the child was born premature, I wonder what sort of prenatal care she was receiving. Where was the father of the child and did he have anything to do with this. It would be good if the J-press really delved into this one, and maybe we can get a picture of this woman, and maybe try to find a way to help reduce these actions.

But if they just stop at the sensationalist effect, and then go on I believe these type of sad events will continue to go on.

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Hugearse, (nice HN by the way)

No, we don't know that. I suspect the child may have already been dead before she tried to flush him. She is of course guilty of a crime, I'm just not sure it is murder. Perhaps manslaughter..

The article says he was born 3 months premature at home. I presume that means a doctor was not present, and the child received no medical attention. Any doctor/nurse/midwife would ensure that a three month premature child would be immediately put in a NICU unit and cared for around the clock until it had reached at least over 2500gms, which would take 3 or more months. This did not happen. She may not have realised how fragile premature babies are, and the poor boy could have died of natural causes during the night.

Why didn't she go to a hospital before/after the child was born? They could have saved him, nurtured him to health, at no charge to herself (for those who don't know, medical fees for infants are free). Is there some mental issue we do not know about here?

What I find sad is that there was no-one who was there to help this woman. Where was the father? Her parents? Friends? Was there noone to help her or her son?

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This is a rare, but not unheard of case. As dreadful as it is to recall, I can remember a few stories overseas of women giving birth in toilets. Suffice to say these people are seriously demented and probably beyond all help. I don't think capitol punishment is a cure, anmore than charity is a cure for poverty. I doubt if there's any deterrent for people like this as they are far too gone.

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The sad part is that the woman had no family support,difficult to hide a 6 months pregnancy. I guess only solution is more baby hatches.

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The Japanese education system is a wonderful thing. It's just a shame they can't educate people on how to be human (or is that humane?).

The story states the baby was three months premature. I'd have to suspect a forced labor in these circumstance.

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ohhh my... poor angel..

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abandonment of a body.

It`s called murder you muppets!!!! she killed her son on purpose.. i.e. MURDER!

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This lady should be put away for a long time.

What precisely would that achieve?

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This lady should be put away for a long time. At least the plumber had his wits about him to call the police.

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I think we all just died a little inside reading that piece.

Great way to start a Monday morning...

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my God this is deplorabl, it made my heart break a little.

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"The child died"

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Did the baby survive?

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Only the most retarded person could overlook a human baby as a doll.

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Poor child. Poor woman. Poor plumber. It's so desperately sad that Ritsuko felt so helpless that she took it out on someone even more helpless than herself.

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