Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
A 23-year-old Venezuelan woman who initially told police she found a newborn abandoned in a cardboard box in South Oropouche, but later admitted she was the baby’s mother, is continuing to assist with the investigation.
The woman is not in police custody, but inquiries are continuing, and police have not ruled out charges.
Police said she concealed the birth and subsequently made a false report.
The baby was discharged from hospital last Friday and is now in the care of the Child Protection Unit of the Children’s Authority.
When Guardian Media visited the South Oropouche community, residents said they were saddened by the incident.
“I was shocked. It real hurt me that something like that happen, but you don’t know what she was going through to do something like that,” a resident said.
The woman’s former employer, where she worked for about four months, said they had no idea she was pregnant.
The employer said the woman usually wore baggy clothing and gave no indication that she was expecting a child.
The employer said they saw her once after the incident, but she has not returned to work.
Residents directed Guardian Media to several addresses where they believed the woman had been living, but no one at the locations appeared to know her.
Last Thursday, the woman and a 47-year-old Trinidadian man arrived at the Oropouche Police Station with the newborn.
The woman initially claimed she found the newborn inside a black plastic bag in a cardboard box on the roadside, with the umbilical cord still attached.
She said she took the baby to a nearby resident, who accompanied her to the police station.
Officers then took the newborn to the Point Fortin Area Hospital for medical attention, and the Children’s Authority was contacted.
