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Shaanxi TV via AP Video

No charges for mother of Chinese toilet pipe baby

The 22-year-old mother reportedly gave birth unexpectedly in the communal bathroom of her building and the baby slipped into the toilet pipe.

A NEWBORN BABY boy has been released from hospital in China after becoming trapped in a toilet pipe and police say his mother faces no charges over the incident.

The baby’s two hour rescue from a 4 inch pipe underneath a squat toilet in Pujiang county prompted horror across the globe over the last two days.

Now police say that the mother, 22 and unmarried, had kept her pregnancy a secret and gave birth unexpectedly in one of the building’s communal bathrooms on Saturday.

The baby boy, who was trapped for several hours, suffered some cuts to his face and limbs and was kept in an incubator at the Pujiang People’s Hospital. Today he was taken home from the hospital by his mother and a man believed to be the father.

(Image: Shaanxi TV via AP Video)

The man has requested a paternity test and if the baby is his he is ready to discuss with the woman how to support the child, an official at the Pujiang county propaganda office in Zhejiang province in the eastern part of the country said today. Officials have not publicly released the names of either of the two adults.

The case has raised discussion of China’s lack of proper education about sex and birthing in many schools. Unwanted pregnancies have been on the rise because of an increasingly lax attitude toward pre-marital sex.

Police concluded that the 22-year-old single woman faces no charges, deciding she did not initially step forward because she was frightened, and that she gradually had a change of heart and began to tell the truth, said the official.

The woman told police she got pregnant after a brief affair with the man, hid her pregnancy from family and neighbors, and secretly delivered the child Saturday in a rental building’s restroom. She said the infant accidentally slipped into the squat toilet and raised the alarm.

In video footage, officials were shown removing the pipe from a ceiling that apparently was just below the restroom and then, at the hospital, using pliers and saws to gently pull apart the pipe and release the newborn.

- Additional reporting from  Associated Press and AFP.

Read: Newborn baby survives after being ‘flushed down toilet’>

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22 Comments
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    Mute J.Rudd
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    May 30th 2013, 10:39 AM

    I hope they monitor the situation between the woman and the baby for some time.

    China seriously does not like to be exposed in the world media for anything bad. .I wonder if there is no charges being brought because they want this case to ‘go away’ as quick as possible.

    If it was a genuine accident, I wish all well – but if there is something more to this case, regardless of the mother and father, I hope child will be monitored for a while at the very least.

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    Mute sean
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    May 30th 2013, 10:53 AM

    did the parents of the baby contact the authorities to say they need to help to rescued their baby as it slipped down the loo ?
    No.
    Accident my arse ,
    but your right Rudd , this child’s well-being should be monitored very closely

    95
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    Mute Sean ORegan
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    May 30th 2013, 11:15 AM

    Apparently she did Sean and called an ambulance… there is no s-bend on these toilets and you can clearly see the little guy’s feet down the hole in the floor.

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    Mute Zonker Smith
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    May 30th 2013, 10:58 AM

    Does anyone read the article? Clearly says she raised the alarm – presumably that’s how they found the baby at all! Hope things will work out for all three of them.

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    May 30th 2013, 11:06 AM

    She did not come forward and admit giving birth to the baby until she was interviewed by police 1 day later.

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    May 30th 2013, 10:55 AM

    I think the Chinese authorities were a bit too quick to give this lady her baby back, apparently without a proper and full evaluation of her mental health, ability to cope, etc.

    I suspect the Chinese authorities may be using this situation to give the impression to the worldwide media that China is “really a compassionate and caring society” – when the opposite is indisputably the case.

    If the same thing happened in Ireland, I suspect Social Services would probably prevent the baby ever being reunited with his mother – especially considering the amount of time it took for the mother to come forward.

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    Mute Stephen Mc Elligott
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    May 30th 2013, 11:09 AM

    It was most likely the communist authorities who gave her this story and put her under pressure to say it. I don’t think the west realise just how cruel communism is.

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    Mute Martin O'Callaghan
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    May 30th 2013, 12:12 PM

    I don’t think you realise just how ignorant you are. Having spoke to many Chinese people both here and in China, the majority of them would prefer greater amounts of social and political freedoms, yet they also are grateful for the time being, that there country and their lives are rapidly progressing after decades and decades of instability and chaos.

    The West turns its nose up at their system by ignoring the reality of their situation. It would be virtually impossible to install a functional democracy in a country the size of a small continent with a population of 1.3 billion. For the time being, I think the vast majority of Chinese understand this system is a necessary evil that has greatly benefited their economy…

    I wouldn’t at all be suprised if this woman was pressurised. But powerful Western governments are not adverse to fabricating their own stories. They’ve gone to war on such stories…

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    Mute Stephen Mc Elligott
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    May 30th 2013, 1:06 PM

    Ah yes, the one child policy, forced abortions, leaving children at the side of the road to die and oppression of religious freedom not to mention many other horrors is great progress Martin isn’t it?

    Take off your blindfold and take a look at the real world of communism for once. Having seen the red curtain fall in many countries, I pray for the day when the red curtain will be torn in two in the remaining countries this diabolical “thing” exists.

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    Mute Martin O'Callaghan
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    May 30th 2013, 1:40 PM

    Once again, you have displayed your own ignorance. The one child policy is a horrible, yet necessary policy for a population that was exploding. This policy has had and does have terrible consequences, some of which you have mentioned, but what is the alternative? Some suggestions please.

    Would you prefer to live in Nigeria, India or Bangladesh with a chaotic population? Bangladesh is 1 1/2 time the size of Ireland with a population of 160 million which will be around 250 million by 2050. Do you think this is healthy to allow the population to develop exponentially or to address the problem??

    It’s very easy to declare that the way the West does it is the only way when we live in a functional democracy. But you should have a greater perspective that what works for us may not work for another country with a completely different history, culture, population, location, etc.

    P.s How do I have a blindfold on? I am trying to look at both perspectives unlike yourself.

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    Mute Vincent F
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    May 30th 2013, 6:30 PM

    Communism….. Dictate what people should do and say and believe… Believe that the leader is almighty… Suppress modern culture and education…. Hmmmmm sounds a bit like the Catholic Church!

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    Mute Glen Norman
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    May 30th 2013, 11:01 AM

    Where’s Jeremy Kyle when you need him !

    54
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    Mute Scrap Croke Park1
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    May 30th 2013, 10:50 AM

    The should call the baby A.J.

    I’ll get my coat

    23
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    Mute J Ní Shuilleabháin
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    May 30th 2013, 11:14 AM

    The New York Post has reported that she hid the pregnancy and didn’t have an abortion as she could not afford one.

    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/mother_of_newborn_in_sewer_CoSAUvsqdYf2lEDRyAoT8I?utm_source=SFnewyorkpost&utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost

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    Mute Gary Mason™
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    May 30th 2013, 11:33 AM

    Ah the new york post, you’d have to believe it so

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    Mute James
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    May 30th 2013, 12:31 PM

    Taught the baby looked a bit flush aright

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    Mute nutzen cider
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    May 30th 2013, 12:10 PM

    Regardless of her claimed inability to get an abortion or kill this child some other way, this is still an epic pussy-pass. The give a defenseless child back to a woman who tried to murder him tells you all you need to know about children’s rights versus women’s rights. Even the commies have embraced feminism.

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    May 30th 2013, 4:04 PM

    Actually, I’m a feminist and I’m a massive proponent of laws which allow mothers to leave newborns at hospitals, no questions asked. The majority of women who do something like this (or leave their newborns in toilets or dumpsters) are young women who successfully concealed their pregnancy and then panicked after giving birth.

    By allowing these women the option of safely relinquishing their babies – and yet not be forced to reveal their pregnancy to their community. In Germany, for example, about 100 infants a year are forfeited this way (how many of those 100 infants would be left to die otherwise?)

    In Ireland, however, that’s illegal, as it is in China. Since you believe in supporting a child’s right to life, surely you must agree that a programme should be established?

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    Mute chloe coyle
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    May 30th 2013, 7:12 PM

    She should not have been given that baby back! The poor child needs a loving home and it’s obvious she tried to kill the baby by flushing him down the toilet , I understand she may have regretted her decision afterwards but it doesn’t change anything in my books. When you have a child you are in awe and you love them unconditionally straight away you don’t have a feeling to get rid of them! Seriously hope she is monitored very closely for that poor baby’s sake..

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    Mute SPP
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    May 30th 2013, 7:54 PM

    Ah god, the baby is just beautiful. Poor little thing!

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    Mute Realiity Offends
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    May 30th 2013, 5:34 PM

    Well i suppose she wouldn’t have faced charges if she aborted it so fair is fair :)

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