Thai woman rescues newborn baby abandoned in cardboard box

A passing pedestrian rescued a newborn baby boy abandoned in a cardboard box in Thailand.

Wanida Matliam, 31, was playing with her son, Thanawat Saentaweesuk, 4, when the youngster discovered near the Eastern Valley housing estate in Rayong province on July 17.

She opened the box, and was shocked to discover the baby boy with his umbilical cord still attached.

He appeared to have been tidied up, and was wearing a nappy while bundled up in a clean towel. Next to him was a plastic bag full of baby care supplies.

Police Captain Chama Thongyoo of the Pluak Daeng Police Station said officers were notified about the discovery at 4 pm.

He said: 'When we arrived at the scene, we found the baby boy whose umbilical cord had not been cut. Rescue workers were holding the baby and feeding it, and it was taken to the Pluak Daeng Hospital to be monitored.

'We will be checking the CCTV footage to find who the baby's mother is.'

Officers believe the baby had been born a few hours before he was discovered.

He is currently in hospital being cared for by nurses. If the mother cannot be found, he will be taken into care.

Wanida said: 'My son was playing with his toy gun, and he poked it into the cardboard box thinking it was empty. He was surprised to find there was a live baby inside, and he came running to tell me.'

A local, Wareerat Luenklang, 15, said she had seen the cardboard box earlier, but thought it was just discarded rubbish.

She said: 'There was no noise coming from the box. I assumed it was just garbage, until Thanawat opened it and the baby started crying.'

Resident Nirut Sutthi, 44, said he believed the baby's mum might have been from a different neighbourhood, as the site where the infant was dumped was difficult to reach from their community.

Police said they are investigating the case to try and trace the infant's mother.