KUALA TERENGGANU: Two youths nearly jumped out of their skin when they found an abandoned baby at a roadside pavilion (wakaf) around midnight on Monday.
Setiu district police chief, DSP Afandi Hussin, said they had stopped their car in Kampung Tayor, Sungai Tong at 12.45am to allow the engine to cool down when they picked up a strange sound.
“They heard crying which they initially thought was a cat meowing. Upon checking they found a baby but ran off because they thought they were being tricked by an evil spirit (makhlus halus),” he said when contacted today.
Afandi said the youths returned to the pavilion, located around 1km from a housing area, at 6am to find the baby still there.
He said the newborn weighing 3kg and with her umbilical cord still attached, was swaddled with a scarf (tudung) and shivering.
She didn’t look like she had injuries and could have been found not long after being born.
Afandi said the youths brought the baby to the house of a friend’s family before making a police report.
“The baby has been referred to Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu for further procedures,” he said, while adding that the case will be investigated under Section 317 of the Penal Code.-Bernama