A cleaner heard the newborn crying inside a sanitary bin before police traced two people through airport surveillance footage.
GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia — A newborn boy was found alive inside a sanitary waste bin at Penang International Airport after a cleaner heard him crying, prompting a police investigation that led to the detention of a Malaysian woman and a Myanmar man.
The baby was discovered Aug. 31 in a toilet at the airport in Bayan Lepas, on the Malaysian island of Penang, according to Southwest district police chief Assistant Commissioner Anuwal Ab Wahab. The infant was taken to Penang Hospital for treatment. Police have not publicly released a detailed update on his condition or identified him.
The discovery set off an investigation into how the newborn came to be inside the bin and who was responsible for leaving him there. Police reviewed closed-circuit television footage from the airport and later detained a 23-year-old Malaysian woman and a 22-year-old Myanmar national. Authorities have not publicly established the relationship between the two adults or their connection to the child.
Sinar Harian reported that the infant was found in a toilet designated for people with disabilities. Police said a member of the cleaning staff heard crying coming from the sanitary bin and checked the source of the sound. Reports said the child appeared to have been born shortly before he was found. Authorities have released few details about the circumstances before the discovery.
Investigators said their review of airport surveillance footage led them to the 23-year-old woman at Bukit Jambul Complex, a shopping center near the airport. Anuwal said she was detained to assist with the investigation. Sinar Harian reported that she was released on police bail on the day of her arrest so she could be taken to a hospital for further treatment. Police did not publicly give further details about that treatment.
Further inquiries led police to the 22-year-old Myanmar man, who authorities said worked as a security guard. Police said he also was unable to produce valid travel documents when questioned. Sinar Harian reported that he was remanded for four days through Sept. 4 to assist investigators. No later public update on his custody status was found in reports reviewed through Sunday.
A Penang police forensic team also examined the airport restroom after the baby was found. Investigators collected several samples and sent them to Malaysia’s Chemistry Department for analysis. Police have not disclosed what the samples contained or announced the results of that testing. Anuwal said investigators were continuing to determine the involvement and connection of the people detained in the case.
The case is being investigated under Section 317 of Malaysia’s Penal Code, which concerns the abandonment or exposure of a child younger than 12 by a parent or a person responsible for the child’s care. The investigation itself does not establish that either person detained committed an offense, and no criminal charge against either person had been publicly announced in the reports reviewed through Sept. 6.
Anuwal urged the public not to speculate about the case or circulate information that had not been verified, saying such claims could interfere with the police investigation. Authorities have not publicly identified who gave birth to the child, who placed him in the bin or what occurred in the period immediately before the cleaner heard his cries.
The case comes as Malaysian authorities continue to address infant-abandonment cases nationwide. Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Lim Hui Ying told Parliament in July that 18 baby-abandonment cases were recorded across Malaysia from January through March 2026, including two in Penang. The ministry recorded 72 such cases during all of 2025. Lim said infants handled by the Social Welfare Department receive protection under Malaysia’s child-welfare system.
Police said the Penang airport investigation remains active while officers examine forensic evidence and work to establish the circumstances surrounding the newborn’s abandonment. Authorities have not announced a timetable for completing the investigation, and an updated medical condition for the baby had not been publicly released as of Sunday.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.