Govt targets abandoning of dead babies

Authorities in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, will issue measures to deal with the "malicious abandonment" of babies after a dead baby was left outside a recently constructed "baby hatch" in the city, the Legal Daily reported.

The baby hatch was set up by the municipal orphanage for people to safely and anonymously abandon an infant.

The infant was dead before it was put outside the hatch on Sunday, and this is considered "malicious abandonment," police said, adding that the baby was left there at around noon while the hatch was closed.

Zhu Yihua, a lawyer with Guangzhou Zunhai Law Firm, said that if the baby turned out to have a severe disease before it died, the parents could be accused of intentional homicide.

The case is still under investigation. The orphanage, Guangzhou Social Welfare House, has provided CCTV footage to police.

The baby hatch in Guangzhou is the first and the only one in Guangdong. It has received over 100 babies since it opened on January 28.

Shenzhen, another city in the province, will also set up a baby hatch.

A total of 25 baby hatches have been established in 10 provincial regions in China, and more will be set up in another 18 regions, according to the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption.