Tuesday, December 11, 2007


Umblicus Urbanus

Tue Dec 11, 5:59 AM

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A new-born baby with its umbilical cord attached was thrown to its death from a high-rise flat in Hong Kong on Tuesday, and police have arrested a 14-year-old girl in connection with the crime.

The child's body was found early on Tuesday at the foot of a low-cost public housing block in northern Hong Kong.

"We believe it was a new-born baby, and it had an umbilical cord attached to its body," a police officer surnamed Chow told Hong Kong's Cable Television. He said that the baby had probably just been born in one of the flats in the building.

A police spokeswoman said a 14-year old girl had been arrested in connection with the crime.

Cable Television reported that the baby had been thrown from a height of more than 20 storeys.

(Reporting by James Pomfret; editing by Roger Crabb)