GEORGE TOWN: Police detained a teenager last night, believed to be the boyfriend of a woman, who threw her newborn from the fourth floor of a flat at Persiaran Mayang Pasir 5, here, hours after giving birth on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old, a shop assistant, was arrested after he surrendered himself at the Bayan Baru police station at about 8.40pm last night.
Southwest district police chief Superintendent A.A. Anbalagan said the man was from Kampung Padang Bekuai, Selarong, in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak.
However, he now resides in Bayan Lepas, near here.
"The man admitted to being the boyfriend of the teenage mother.
"We will question him further after the remand process," he added.
The man has no previous record and urine test conducted came back negative.
He had completed his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) last year.
It was reported that the newborn was thrown from the fourth floor of the flat by her 18-year-old mother, hours after giving birth, in a state of panic.
Miraculously, the newborn survived the fall and landed on the roof of a unit below.
The woman had told police that her parents were in Kelantan and her two siblings who were staying with her did not know about her pregnancy.
The baby, who sustained a cracked skull as well as brain and liver injuries, is in stable condition at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Penang Hospital.
The case is being investigated under Section 317 of the Penal Code for child abandonment.