ALOR STAR: A case of baby dumping at the hostel of an institution of higher learning in Bukit Kayu Hitam here has been reclassified as murder.
Kedah Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Datuk Mohd Nashir Ya said police reclassified the case after a pathology report revealed that the boy was born alive when he was dumped in the hostel bathroom’s toilet bowl.
"The initial post-mortem report disclosed that the baby was born alive when he was dumped into the toilet bowl – but the actual cause of death has yet to be established, pending further examination," he said in a statement today.
Nashir said police have decided to reclassify the case from Section 318 of the Penal Code for “concealment of birth by disposal of a dead body” to Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
"We have re-arrested the student, who is in her early 20s.
“She was taken to court for a remand application process for the murder probe," he added.
It was reported that the suspect was arrested while seeking treatment for post-labour pain at a hospital here, several hours after her son's body was discovered in a toilet bowl in a bathroom at the students’ hostel at about 5.30pm on Thursday.
The young woman, from Sungai Petani, is a first-year student at the public institution of higher learning.