KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian woman who placed her newborn baby in a cereal box and then in a suitcase, has been convicted of murder in the UK.
Teo Jia Xin, 22, was a student at Coventry University who arrived from Malaysia earlier this year already pregnant.
She hid her pregnancy and gave birth to her baby at full term on her own on March 4, and placed the newborn inside a cereal box, BBC reports the Crown Prosecution Service stating after Teo’s conviction by a jury at Warwick Crown Court yesterday.
She then put the cereal box into a sealable plastic bag which then placed in a suitcase.
She told the court she “had been hearing voices which told her to kill or harm the baby” but the jury rejected this defence.
Other facts of the case include her failure to tell police where she hid the baby until two days had passed, and denying to hospital staff that she had given birth when asked.
West Midlands Police went to her address after Teo went to hospital showing signs of having given birth.
After admitting later that she had delivered a child, Teo reportedly said she was scared that her family and friends in Malaysia would find out and affect her studies.
The Crown Prosecution Service said after Teo’s conviction that she had the opportunity to seek help from local health services but “chose” to carry her pregnancy in secret, deliver the child alone, and lie to friends about it.
The prosecution also stated that the baby “was alive after birth and could have survived but Teo made the decision to place her inside a cereal box knowing that it would kill her.”
Teo is to be sentenced at a later date. – October 25, 2024