Kuala Lumpur: The body of a baby was found floating in a river behind a restaurant on Jalan Klang Lama today. The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) operations centre received a report about the incident at around 3 pm via a MERS999 emergency call.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, eight personnel from the Seputeh fire and rescue station, along with a fire engine, were immediately dispatched to the scene. The firemen successfully retrieved the baby's body and handed it over to police for further investigation.

Brickfields district police chief ACP Ku Mashariman Ku Mahmood stated that preliminary investigations revealed a witness at the scene spotted what appeared to be a body stuck on rocks in the river and alerted the police at 2.05 pm. Investigations found that the body was that of a baby boy, still with the umbilical cord attached.

A post-mortem is scheduled for 1 pm tomorrow at the Forensic Department of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre. The case is being investigated under Section 318 of the Penal Code for concealing a birth by secretly disposing of the body.