Two sanitation workers found the body of a newborn wrapped in a plastic bag on Tuesday, March 5, in a trash can at Urbana Place residential complex in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten. 

The workers were on their regular rounds collecting garbage when they discovered the body. 

“[The workers] were shocked to see blood in the garbage can and initially thought it was an animal. It turned out to be a dead baby,” South Jakarta Police criminal investigation head Adj. Comr. Alexander Yurikho said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

The results of an autopsy suggested that the infant was not born premature, as it placed the infant's age at nine months, said Alexander, and that it had been abandoned immediately after birth.

“The baby was born alive. Based on the [autopsy], it died of starvation,” he said. 

The suspected mother, a domestic helper, has been detained for questioning. (fac)