Mother's plight said to highlight problems facing floating population

A 19-year-old mother who killed her baby after giving birth in a toilet in late 2008 was brought to Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court and charged with murder on Monday.

The date of her sentencing is not yet known.

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The woman surnamed Wang gave birth on Nov 5, 2008 in the toilet of her unspecified company's dormitory in Changping district.

In a state of panic after the birth, Wang choked the baby and knocked her head against the toilet until she was dead. Wang claimed she had been unaware of being pregnant and believed she had suffered from stomach aches, a press release from the court said.

Wang is a migrant worker from Hebei province. Before being arrested by police on Nov 7, 2008, she had worked at a factory in Changping district.

A similar case is scheduled to take place in the Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court today. However, in this case, the mother who killed her baby is under 18 years old.

The minor, surnamed Ji, from Hebei province met a man online in December 2008 and soon became pregnant. She moved to Beijing and worked as a maid in Xicheng district, but in September 2009, threw her newly born baby from the bathroom window of her employer's home.

"She knew about her pregnancy but didn't know where to find help," Zhou Jun, the judge of the case, told METRO yesterday.

Zhou said that for murder crimes like this, they usually give out three to 10 years in jail. He refused to reveal more information, to protect her rights as a minor.

Han Huimin, director general of the Migrant Women's Club, the first organization promoting migrant women's rights in China, said she has heard about around five similar cases every year since she started work in 2003.

"Most are young women around 20 years of age with low education backgrounds, coming from rural areas," she told METRO yesterday.

She said the women are often unaware of being pregnant. After they give birth they have no idea what to do next, so they abandon or kill their babies.

"They don't know how to protect themselves or where to seek help, and that's why the tragedy happens," Han said.

In her experience, the women usually receive two to three years in jail for the crime.

The Maple Women's Center, which opened a hotline in 1992 to offer help to women, gets around 30 phone calls a day. Su Guoshu, manager of the hotline, said the majority of calls are from women in rural areas. About 80 percent ask for help in relationships and domestic issues.