Newborn left in front of mosque with note of apology

KOTA KINABALU: A baby girl, just a week old, was discovered abandoned in a box outside the Taman Seri Gaya Mosque, Jalan Maktab Gaya, Luyang, here yesterday (Nov 5).

The infant was found by the mosque's Imam, left with a note indicating that the child had been left due to the parents' inability to care for her and pleading for her to be taken to an orphanage.

Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief, ACP Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said in the note, the parents expressed remorse for their inability to care for the child and requested for her to be placed in the care of an orphanage.

"The healthy baby was born on Oct 31 based on the note that was left with the child," he said in a statement today.

He said police have initiated an investigation under Section 317 of the Penal Code, which deals with the offence of exposure and abandonment of a child below the age of 12 by parents or guardians.

If convicted, offenders could face up to seven years in prison, a fine, or both.

Police urged anyone with information on the case to contact the nearest police station or the investigating officer, Inspector Hatikah Ahmad, at 016-337246.

-- BERNAMA