BEIJING — The mother of the Chinese newborn trapped in a sewer pipe in an ordeal caught on video had raised the initial alarm and was present for the entire two-hour rescue but did not admit giving birth until confronted by police, reports said Wednesday.
The state-run, Hangzhou-based newspaper Dushikuaibao said police became suspicious when they found baby toys and blood-stained toilet paper in the 22-year-old woman’s rented room in the building where the rescue occurred.
The woman told police she could not afford an abortion and secretly delivered the child Saturday afternoon in the toilet. She said she tried to catch the baby, but he slipped into the sewer line and that she alerted her landlord of the trapped baby after she could not pull the child out, the Jinhua-based Zhezhong News said.
Zhezhong News said the woman said she became pregnant after a one-night stand.
On Thursday, authorities announced the mother would not face any criminal charges. They also say the baby has been released from a hospital into the care of the mother and a man claiming to be his father.
