KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — A Malaysian student in the United Kingdom, who put her newborn baby in a cereal box in March and hid the box in a suitcase, has been convicted of murder.
According to a report published in the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service website, Jia Xin Teo, 22, was convicted yesterday at Warwick Crown Court on one count of murder.
Teo arrived in the UK earlier this year to attend Coventry University.
In an attempt to keep her pregnancy hidden, she gave birth on March 4 and put her newborn in a cereal box, which she then sealed in a plastic bag and stored in a suitcase.
Police located the baby girl two days later, by which time she had died.
Teo denied murdering her baby and said she had been hearing voices that told her to kill the baby.
However, the jury rejected the defence and found her guilty of murder. She is scheduled for sentencing today.
James Leslie Francis of the Crown Prosecution Service said Teo hid her pregnancy from people she knew and arrived in the UK knowing she would give birth there.
“She had opportunities to seek help but instead chose secrecy, even going so far as to lie to those close to her, to healthcare providers, and to police.”
“Baby Teo was alive after birth and could have survived, but Jia Xin Teo made the decision to put her inside a cereal box, knowing it would kill her,” Francis was quoted as saying in the report.
— Bernama
