Mother suspected of abandoning son’s body in shopping bag

A mother in her 20s is being probed under suspicion of abandoning the body of her infant boy in a shopping bag, Gyeonggi Hwaseong police said Thursday.

The 26-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim, is accused of abandoning her baby boy inside a shopping bag, shortly after she gave birth to him, at her fifth floor studio apartment rooftop in Osan, Gyeonggi Province in mid-March.

According to police, Kim showed detailed planning of the crime, citing the second time she returned to the site in order to wrap the body with another shopping bag on April 10.

A sanitation worker reported his discovery of the body inside the shopping bag to police at approximately 11:37 a.m. Wednesday. 

Police were able to track down Kim at a nearby internet cafe by checking security footage and immediately arrested her on the spot at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

It is said Kim did not appear to have an online game addiction, but was rather going to and from internet cafes and saunas after moving out of her studio apartment.

The mother claimed that her “baby boy was already dead” upon giving birth and abandoned the body two to three days later.

Police plan to request an autopsy in order to decide whether to press criminal charges.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)