Police are hunting for suspects after the body of a newborn child aged one to three days old was discovered near Wat Phnom High School on November 1.

The Child Protection Unit (CPU), the Phnom Penh municipal police and the Scientific Technical Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior have launched a homicide investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, according to a Facebook post by CPU executive director James McCabe.

He said on the Facebook page: “CPU forensic and homicide investigators attended the scene and after conducting an autopsy it was determined that the child had died under suspicious circumstances.”

Municipal police chief Sar Thet declined to comment. Ministry of Women’s Affairs spokesperson Man Chenda did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Lawyer Sang Kim Thach said abandoning a minor under 15 years old is an offence punishable by a prison sentence and a fine under Article 321 of the Criminal Code.

“The acts of abandonment by a person who has authority to take care of a minor less than fifteen years of age is punishable by an imprisonment of between one year and five years and a fine of between two million riel ($500) and 10 million riel if the abandonment puts the health or the safety of the minor in danger,” he said, quoting the article.

“The abandonment of children who are minors aged less than 15 is attributable to other factors like parents being young and a misunderstanding of the law. In the case that a woman has an unwanted pregnancy and she doesn’t want to have a child, she should receive legal advice concerning abortion in any condition that the law permits,” he added.