A cleaner working at the terminal heard crying from inside the bin and alerted police on Aug. 31, Southwest district police chief Assistant Commissioner Anuwal Ab Wahab said in a statement carried by The Star. The baby was taken to Penang Hospital for treatment.
The infant still had the placenta and umbilical cord attached when he was found, indicating he had been abandoned shortly after birth, according to the New Straits Times.
A review of closed-circuit television footage from the airport led officers to a 23-year-old Malaysian woman, who was detained at Bukit Jambul Complex, a shopping mall near the airport.
Malaysian Envoyciting Anuwal, reported that she is believed to be the baby’s mother.
Further inquiries led officers to a 22-year-old Myanmar man who works as a security guard, Anuwal said. The man was also unable to produce valid travel documents.
A Penang police forensic team examined the scene and collected samples for analysis by the Chemistry Department, The Star reported.
Neither of the two has been charged.
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Drone photo of Penang International Airport in Penang, Malaysia, December 2024. Photo by HundenvonPenang |
Malaysia’s Women, Family and Community Development Ministry recorded 18 baby abandonment cases between January and March this year, Deputy Minister Lim Hui Ying told Parliament in July, against 72 cases for all of 2025.
Selangor accounted for 10 of the 18, with Penang and Sabah recording two each. All of the infants handled by the Social Welfare Department were safe, Lim said.