Abandoned baby found alive in plastic bag

A Larangan district resident in Pamekasan regency, East Java, found a newborn baby dumped in a gutter, wrapped in a plastic bag, apparently abandoned only hours after its birth.

Abdul Malik, 30, said that he was about to attend a friend's wedding when he heard the baby crying.

When he asked local residents, none of them knew who dumped the baby. He decided to take the baby back to his house.

"I asked the local residents for a cardboard box and some baby blankets so that the baby didn't freeze on our way home," Malik said on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Once home, Malik's mother, Suhairiyah, immediately called a doctor.

"I felt sympathy for the baby because black ants had crawled all over the baby's body. The baby's entire body was red, and was covered in ant bites. Fortunately, none of the ants have entered the baby's nose or ears," Suhairiyah said.

The baby's placenta was also still attached.

The baby has already been reported to local officials.

Abdul's wife, Nurrahmah, said that she would raise the baby until it reached adulthood.

As of this reporting, the baby remains nameless. (png/iwa)