Chinese Police have rescued
a baby boy buried alive in a shallow grave on a hillside in southern China's
Guangxi province. It is believed that the baby was abandoned in the wilderness
for as long as 10 days, but the details remain unclear.
The boy's family
decided to abandon him because he was born with a cleft lip and a congenital
defect, according to a Xinhua news agency report.
The baby was born on April 20 and discharged
from the hospital four days later after receiving treatment for a high fever,
according to Tiandong County People's Hospital.
"Normal parents
ask the hospital to provide a birth certificate and arrange for medical
insurance, but this family didn't want a birth certificate and left immediately
after paying the bill," Wu Weili, deputy director of pediatrics at the
hospital, told reporters.
"We do not know
what exactly happened during the period of time when the baby was discharged
from the hospital on April 24, and when he was admitted to the hospital again
on May 4."
On April 24, the family
including the infant's grandmother allegedly hired a man for $290 to get rid of
the baby. That day, the hired man left the newborn to die in a cardboard box in
the wilderness. Two days later, believing the baby to be dead, he buried him.
Later, a woman who was
picking herbs on a hillside heard a wail. With the help of a few villagers,
police rescued the baby and sent him to the hospital.
Wu said the baby was in
critical condition -- coughing up mud, his whole body covered in scratches and
bruises -- when he arrived at the hospital.
The baby weighed 7.8
pounds when he was born. By the time he was rescued, he weighed only 5.9 pounds.