Shanghai police detain grandfather and doctor suspected of killing newborn with cleft lip

Police in Shanghai have detained a man and a doctor on suspicion of murdering a newborn who had a cleft lip, local media have reported.

The man, who was the boy's grandfather, was suspected of killing the baby on July 15, one day after it was delivered at Chongming No. 2 People’s Hospital,  according to the Oriental Morning Post. 

The newspaper said the grandfather and a gynaecologist were placed under criminal detention by police in Chongming, an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The authorities were investigating the case, it added.

The newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said the grandfather injected potassium chloride, undiluted by water, into the infant, killing it. The chemical compound is used to treat low levels of potassium in the body but concentrated doses can be fatal, and it has been used in lethal injections.