COVENTRY: The Malaysian student, convicted of murdering her newborn by stuffing the baby in a cereal box, rejected help from friends and paramedics on the day of the incident.
According to court documents, Teo Jia Xin, 22, who concealed her pregnancy for fear it would affect her studies, gave birth to the baby at her student residence on March 3.
"The birth was not straightforward but was complicated by significant blood loss," said Warwick Crown Court Judge Justice Tipples during sentencing.
Tipples said Teo, who has a history of depression, would have been in considerable pain, weak and exhausted.
"Your baby was alive and well, a full-term healthy baby. But you did not want her. You cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors and the baby was alone with you in the bathroom, and she was soon crying," Tipples said in recapping the facts of the case.
After Teo gave birth, she reached out to a friend, Eve, asking for "medication to replenish blood".
She lied to her friends about what happened, blaming her ill health on a period.
About two hours later, her friends passed her red bean soup through the door.
Teo would not let them in but her friends could see she was crouched on the ground looking very unhealthy.
Her friends kept knocking on the door but Teo asked them to leave. Her friend Eve managed to open the door and was shocked by the amount of blood she saw.
By then, Teo had locked herself in the bathroom, with the baby still alive.
Her friends then told the receptionist at the student residence of their concerns. The receptionist tried to help but was also told by Teo to leave.
An ambulance was called and shortly, paramedics arrived offering assistance.
"You (Teo) refused to come out of the bathroom or be treated by the ambulance staff. You told them that you did not want to go to hospital and after 4pm they left," said Tipples.
"Your baby was still alive at this point and on the bathroom floor.
"You wanted all the people who had come to help you out of your bedroom so that you could get rid of the baby and attempt to clean up the bathroom which, at that point, you had been unable to do."
Teo later murdered the child, putting the newborn in a sealable plastic bag, before stuffing the bag in a cereal box which she kept in a suitcase.
"You also made an effort to clean up the blood in the bathroom, so that the situation did not look quite so bad."
Later, Teo was moved to another room and only then agreed to go to the hospital, where it was eventually discovered that she had given birth, despite her initial denial to medical personnel.
It was only when police were called that she admitted what happened.
"You knew that all the people in your bedroom that afternoon were there to help you and were very concerned about you.
"I am sure that you deliberately chose not to open the bathroom door and let them help you so that they would not find out about your baby, and so that you could still kill her and hide her.
"I am sure that you understood full well what you were doing, and what the consequences would be."
Teo was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. She must serve a minimum of 17 years in jail before she is eligible for parole.