Mother of baby dumped in South Korea during winter was ‘unable to raise child’
- A man found an infant outside his restaurant in Jeonju city when it was minus 1.8 degrees Celsius outside
- Officers arrested a 20-year-old Vietnamese woman who blamed her ‘inability to raise the child’ as the reason behind the abandonment
South Korean police are investigating a Vietnamese woman after she abandoned her newborn daughter outside a restaurant in sub-zero weather.
The owner of the eatery found the baby in front of his establishment in Jeonju city, North Jeolla province, 200km south of Seoul, on Monday night.
The person later reported the case to police. Officers, who arrested the 20-year-old mother near her home in Jeonju, said she blamed her “inability to raise the child” as the reason for dumping the infant in minus 1.8 degrees Celsius temperature.
Police added they are seeking an arrest warrant against the woman for violating the Child Welfare Act, The Korea Herald reported. Anyone who abandons a child under his or her protection and supervision can be punished with a two-year jail term or 3 million won (US$2,351) in fines.
Officials said the baby, found wrapped in a blanket, did not have any health issues and was sent to a government-run social care institution.