GEORGE TOWN, May 14 — An infant girl who was thrown off the balcony of a fourth-floor flat here yesterday is under intensive care but stable, said Southwest district police chief Supt A. Anbalagan.

He said the baby suffered head injuries from the fall and was under observation at the Penang General Hospital.

"The suspect, who is the mother of the baby, is also warded at the hospital for observation,” he said.

The mother is an unwed 18-year-old shop assistant.

Yesterday morning, a resident at the flats in Bukit Gedung found the baby covered in blood but still breathing in a bag on the ground floor of the building after hearing a loud thud of something falling from the floors above.

Following investigations, police found the baby’s mother who lived in a fourth-floor unit there.

Anbalagan said the suspect admitted to birthing the baby at about 7am yesterday in the toilet of her flat without the knowledge of her family members.

"She panicked and decided to throw the baby from the fourth floor of their small balcony to hide the incident from her family,” he said.

He said the suspect had hid her pregnancy from her family and revealed that the father of the baby was her boyfriend, who is also 18 years’ old.

He said the police have already identified the boyfriend and are investigating the case under Section 317 of the Penal Code for child abandonment.