SINGAPORE – A Singaporean couple have been arrested over the death of a newborn found dumped in the trash in Taiwan two years ago, said police here.
Taiwan placed the duo on its most-wanted list on suspicion of murder after they allegedly left the baby girl in a recycling bin in the capital, Taipei.
A recycling company employee found the body, with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached, wrapped in a garbage bag.
Singapore police said they arrested a man and a woman, both aged 25, on April 28 “for their suspected involvement in the death of a newborn in Taiwan in February 2019”.
In a statement yesterday, police said they launched an investigation after receiving a request for assistance from authorities on the island.
They did not name the couple, but Taiwan prosecutors previously told AFP that Li Heng Xun and Evon Kay Pei Yee were being sought for suspected murder and abandonment.
Taiwanese media reported that the Singaporean couple are believed to have dumped the baby’s body seven days after they arrived in Taiwan, and flew back to the republic the same day.
It is unclear whether the island has sought the couple’s extradition, but it sometimes faces difficulties in pressing such requests as many countries do not treat it as a sovereign nation – especially those with close links to China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory.
Singapore has good ties with both Taiwan and China. – AFP, May 12, 2021
