Police believe an unmarried 18-year-old woman from Hubei Province secretly gave birth to a baby girl in the bathroom in a sixth-floor apartment she shares with her parents, and then tossed the infant out the window so no one would find out she had been pregnant.

While the girl apparently survived the fall, she was announced dead at hospital at 2:48PM on Saturday, a little less than six hours after she was born.

The young mother was still receiving treatment at Putuo District Central Hospital yesterday.

Police would not reveal her name or comment on her current situation.

The hospital would only identify her as Mei, one of the characters in her given name.

The 18-year-old had no boy friend, as far as her parents knew.

She kept silent after being taken to the hospital and would not tell anyone who the father is, even when the police questioned her. Mei's parents are looking after her at the hospital, but both of them said they were terribly ashamed of what had happened.

Mei moved to the rented apartment on Fengzhuang Road in March to live with her parents, who work in town. Her mother recalled Mei's belly began to bulge obviously since June, but her daughter said she was just gaining weight.

Her mother had urged Mei to wear a garter and exercise to lose weight over the past few months.

Mei's secret was not uncovered until about 9AM Saturday morning when her father kicked open the bathroom door after police visited their home.

Before that, Mei had locked herself inside for a long time and told her mother she was having her period and needed privacy.

While the parents were surprised at the mess inside the bathroom, neighbors on the ground outside were gathering in crowds astonished at the sight of a naked bloody infant crouching in a strip of grass in front of the building.

"It's a girl and the baby was bloody and definitely still moving. We heard her cry," said Qin Zhirong, who lives nearby.

"We came over after hearing a loud scream from a woman, probably the first to witness the baby," he said.

When the residents looked up, they saw blood along the windowsill of the bathroom of the sixth-floor apartment.

Besides, there were also traces of blood left on a 5th-floor awning right below that window.

While the baby was wrapped and rushed to the Putuo District hospital, the police knocked on the door to Mei's apartment.

Neighbors said Mei was an introvert girl and was never noticed going out with any boys.

Mei was trying to clean blood off the bathroom floor when her parents and the police broke in.

(Shanghai Daily October 31, 2005)