Residents of an apartment block where the body of a newborn baby boy was found in a rubbish bin have been prevented from leaving, as police investigate the discovery in western Sydney.
Emergency services were called to Harrow Rd in Auburn about 11.20am local time on Monday after reports a
baby’s body had been found.
The newborn boy was discovered naked inside a rubbish bag in a bin at the apartment complex by a local resident.
Police established a crime scene at the building, opposite a school near Auburn town centre, and began door-knocking residents and collecting CCTV footage.
Sumandra Banthi, 24, who lives in the building, said residents had been forced to stay inside for much of the day.
“I’m feeling scared,” Banthi told AAP.
“It’s the first time I have seen [something] like this.”
Banthi said officers spoke to all of the building’s roughly 20 residents soon after the discovery, but did not explain exactly what had happened.
Auburn Police Area Acting Commander Darren Sly said investigators believed the baby may have been in the bin for up to 36 hours, but it was too early to determine whether he had been born alive.
Authorities are urging the baby’s mother to seek urgent medical treatment, saying her welfare is their priority.
“Our number one concern is for that of the mother and the mother seeking urgent medical attention [and] the care I’m sure that she needs,” Sly told reporters.
“If there was to be any police action, that is not our priority whatsoever … our only priority at the moment is for the welfare of the mother and that she goes immediately to hospital.”
Sly said the woman who discovered the baby while disposing of rubbish had been left traumatised.
“It’s very traumatic for that particular lady who found that baby.
“It’s a newborn baby who now has passed away and, of course, it’s sad and a horrific set of circumstances.”
