A 30-year-old Sydney, Australia mother was charged with the attempted murder of her newborn son after leaving him in a drain early last week.
The infant was found in serious condition. Police allege the boy was in the 8-foot-deep drain for five days before David Otte and his daughter Hayley, 18, and two other cyclists they were with found him.
The Otte's told Mail Online they thought the cries were coming from a trapped kitten before realizing it was an infant.
"I've got two kids of my own so I know what a baby screaming sounds like," Mr. Otte said to Mail Online.
The drain was covered by a 441-pound concrete slab that took six people to lift, including two police officers who arrived at the scene, Mail Online reported.
"How could someone do it? I, myself, have kids and we're expecting a baby in a few more months so it's not good that someone's going through this and has done this to a little one," Senior-Constable Mark McAlister, who climbed in with another officer to retrieve the infant, said to Mail Online.
The infant had no signs of physical injuries on his body, but he was malnourished, Mail Online reported. He was found wrapped in plastic and a hospital blanket and still had a peg attached to it's umbilical cord.
Police confirmed the infant's mother Saifale Nai, 30, was unmarried. Nai did not appear in court to answer the attempted murder charge and her lawyer failed to enter a plea, reported The Associated Press.
The magistrate also formally refused her bail.
Nai is being held in custody until her next court appearance on Friday where, if convicted, she will face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
