DNA in this couple's hotel room matches baby dumped in bin, says Taiwan police

In an update to the baby dumped in bin by (allegedly) a Singapore couple case, Taiwan police have confirmed that blood samples found in the hotel room where the couple stayed matched the DNA of the baby.

It is yet to be confirmed if the baby was alive at the time of birth.  

It was earlier reported that Taiwan police was looking for a Singapore couple, after the body of a baby was found in New Taipei City, dumped in a bin full of kitchen waste.

The couple is said to have put the baby in a black plastic bag and disposed of the body.

According to Taiwan news reports, it was an employee at a recycling company in New Taipei City, who made the shocking discovery on 26 February 2019. The body of the baby was apparently found with the umbilical cord and placenta still intact. 

Police are now investigating a possible case of murder and abandonment.

To trace the culprits, police surveyed security cameras, and found that the infant had been abandoned at Ximending, in Taiwan. It seems that, the body was carried by a recycling truck from Taipei to New Taipei City.

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB NEWS VIDEO

A video captured outside a restaurant in Ximending showed a man in his 20s dumping a black plastic bag into the recycling bin. The man is believed to have a foreign accent, so investigations led police to a hotel popular among tourists from Southeast Asia.

According to witnesses and hotel staff, the man’s girlfriend seemed to be pregnant when they first arrived at the hotel (on 19 February), but by the time they checked out (on 26 February), her tummy had “disappeared”.

Initial reports had suggested that the man and woman were from Singapore and had left Taiwan on Tuesday, 26 February 2019. Police had found traces of blood and hair in the bathroom, and had taken samples there.

Singapore couple deny the pregnancy

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with Shin Min, the man had denied the accusations, stressing that his girlfriend wasn’t pregnant. He also said that he had never left the hotel to dispose of the plastic bag at the time.

The woman too denied being pregnant, and asked how she would have been able to board the flight to Taiwan if she were so. The woman’s father also revealed that she had gone back to work the very next day after returning to Singapore. It did not seem like she had just given birth.

However, the man’s parents did confirm that the couple were in Taiwan on those dates. They however  said they weren’t aware of the pregnancy.

Head of the Taiwan police team in charge of the case, Mr Zeng Bozhong, told Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao that Taiwan police are certain of the Singapore couple’s involvement in the case.

If their suspicions are confirmed, Taiwan police may contact Singapore authorities to assist with investigations.

Here is the latest video of the news coverage: