NEARLY every month last year two babies were abandoned in rubbish bins, stairways, playgrounds or even hospitals, about twice the number for the previous year, social workers said.
Most of these babies were newborn, sometimes in poor health, and their parents were rarely traced.
Social workers are concerned at the callousness shown by parents in abandoning babies which they say is little different from killing a child.
Earlier this month, a four-day-old girl abandoned in a rubbish bin in Choi Wan Estate, Kowloon Bay, almost died from the cold but was saved by a nurse who found her.
A Social Welfare Department spokesman said that last year they received 23 abandoned babies who were aged six or below, including 10 boys.
Fifteen of the babies were newborn to four months old, three were one to two years old, four were three to four years old and one was six years old.
