The Cambodia National Council for Children (CNCC) has strongly condemned the unknown perpetrators who abandoned a newborn baby in a cardboard box in Phnom Penh. The baby, believed to be under two weeks old, was found dead in Daun Penh district’s Srah Chak commune on November 1.

The CNCC issued a statement on November 3, saying that the council as well as the public are deeply saddened by the incident.

In the statement, the CNCC called on relevant ministries, institutions and units to take strict legal action against the perpetrators to prevent similar atrocities from happening in the future.

CNCC secretary-general Nhep Sopheap said on November 4 that authorities at all levels as well as the international Child Protection Unit (CPU) have been searching for the perpetrators.

Sopheap added that the perpetrators were irresponsible and lacked basic knowledge.

The secretary-general described them as greedy, broken-hearted people who did not think deeply about their actions. But Sopheap added that the crime was not related to the perpetrators’ livelihoods.

“As for the livelihood, it is not a problem because we see that during Covid-19 and the floods, the government and generous people always help each other. We do not leave any Cambodians hungry. I think the problem is that some parents do not understand their role, [they have] low self-esteem to be able to do such a thing,” Sopheap said.

On November 2, James McCabe, the director of operations at CPU, wrote on his Facebook page that the CPU, the Phnom Penh Municipal Police and the Technical and Scientific Police Department of the Ministry of Interior are investigating the case.