Baby's Body Found Floating in Plastic Bag in Drainage; Bengkulu Police Detain High School Student

BENGKULU, KOMPAS.com - Residents of Melati Street RT 15 RW 3, Bumi Ayu Sub-district, Selebar District, Bengkulu City, Bengkulu Province, were alarmed by the discovery of a baby's body floating in a drainage ditch on Saturday (9/19/2026).

The infant's body was found by Vigo, a local resident who was fishing in the ditch.

Initially, Vigo spotted a black plastic bag containing the baby's head. Upon finding this, he reported it to the neighborhood chief.

"There was a plastic bag, and then the head. We immediately covered it and reported to the RT," said Vigo on Saturday (9/19/2026).

The discovery was confirmed by Rosneli, the chief of RT 15 Melati Street, Bumi Ayu.

She said the baby was suspected to have been recently born, as blood and the placenta were still visible.

“A resident reported it to us, and we went straight to the local police to file a report. It looks like the baby was just born because there was still blood and the placenta,” Rosneli added.

The unfortunate infant’s body has since been evacuated and transported to Bhayangkara Hospital in Bengkulu for medical examination.

Police Detain High School Student

Following the discovery of the infant's body on Melati Street RT 15, Bumi Ayu, Selebar District, a joint team from the Macan Selebar operational unit and the Macan Gading Resmob team of Bengkulu City Police detained a high school student identified by the initials SD.

The detention of the student started after police discovered bloodstains in the drainage system, which led them to SD.

Selebar Police Chief, AKP Bayu Heri, confirmed the detention of SD.

"We have detained and brought a local resident, identified as SD, to the Bengkulu City Police Headquarters on suspicion that this teenager abandoned the baby early Saturday morning," Bayu stated.

Meanwhile, Rosneli, chief of RT 15 Melati Street, Bumi Ayu, confirmed that one of her residents, a 12th-grade vocational high school student, was taken in by police for questioning.

“Yes, someone was taken away. To my knowledge, she is still a student,” Rosneli concluded.