KUANTAN: A newborn boy, with his umbilical cord attached, was found crying near a seafood factory at Kampung Peramu here today.
The baby, placed on wooden planks near the factory fence, was found at 12.10pm.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said besides some insect bites the baby was stable and warded for observation at Tengku Ampuan Afan Hospital.
He said police received information from the public about a newborn baby who was still alive near the seafood factory.
"A 52-year-old woman who found the baby claimed she heard sounds of a baby crying about 7.30am today but did not suspect anything. She assumed the cries were from her neighbour's house.
"About 11.30am when she continued hearing the cries, the woman went to check and found the newborn near the factory.
"The baby is still covered in amniotic fluid with his umbilical cord attached and there are insect bites on his body," he said in a statement today.
Wan Zahari said the woman told a friend who worked at the seafood factory to call the police before a police mobile patrol vehicle took the newborn to the hospital.
He said police had examined the closed-circuit television camera footages obtained from the factory but none of the cameras covered the section where the baby was found.
"Checks by the medical team revealed the baby was born less than three hours before he was rescued.
"The police is visiting private clinics here to track down the suspect. Those with information are urged to contact the nearest police station," he said, adding the case was being investigated under Section 371 of the Penal Code for child abandonment.