Neighbors mourn death of infant found at clothing donation bin; Mother arrested

Neighbors left flowers, gifts and heartfelt notes at a roadside clothing donation bin in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, where an infant was found dead earlier this month.

The baby -- a boy -- was found by the bin’s operator on Dec. 18, wrapped with a towel.

On Sunday, local police arrested a 20-something woman living nearby as a suspect. The woman confessed to having given birth to the baby at home and abandoning him at the bin, out of fear that her husband could find out about her extramarital pregnancy.

Investigators were able to identify the suspect after checking footage from a surveillance camera installed nearby.

At the clothing donation box, neighbors left flowers, candy, diapers and baby formula, as well as toys, in mourning for the abandoned baby.

One note left there reads: “I am sorry. I wish, in your next life, you are born to parents who love you dearly and live happily.”

Yonhap News Agency reported that the suspect’s husband also paid tribute.

“I was so shocked, when the police told me about what she did. She could have just told me. This tragedy could have been prevented,” the news agency quoted him as saying.


By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)