MELAKA, MALAYSIA – Two cases of concealment of birth have surfaced in Melaka this year, including one where skeletal remains of a baby were discovered buried in Alor Gajah district, state police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said on May 6.
In the first incident, reported at 6.11am on March 25, a young woman allegedly gave birth alone in August 2025 and handed the baby to her lover before it died and was buried in front of an unoccupied house in Kelemak, Alor Gajah.
Police arrested five individuals aged 16 to 40 – four family members – on the same day; all tested negative for drugs and have no prior records, and were released on bail after assisting investigations. Follow-up work recovered the skeletal remains, estimated several months old, with the case probed under Section 318 of the Penal Code for secret disposal of a dead body.
The second case emerged from a Hospital Melaka report at 6.50pm on April 25 about a 17-year-old girl admitted with complications from a 22-week pregnancy; she later said the non-viable foetus was buried by her boyfriend at an unknown site.
Police arrested the 18-year-old youth that night and detained the girl on May 5 after discharge; both have clean records and negative drug tests. Investigations showed they planned to terminate the pregnancy, with the youth hiding the foetus in a vehicle, facing charges under Section 318 while she faces Section 315 for causing a newborn’s death – both due in Ayer Keroh court on May 8.