Hoai An, Baby Found in Plastic Bag and Treated in Singapore, Dies

Stock image of a newborn with parent. Jarmoluk/Pixabay

A baby who fought for her life in a Singapore hospital after being abandoned at a Vietnamese coffee plantation has died, it was reported.

Trieu Hoai An was taken to a Singapore hospital before she was returned to her home country, Channel News Asia reported. She died on July 12 at around 4 a.m., according to her caregiver at Hue Quang monastery in Vietnam.

The girl was three months and three weeks old, the report said.

In March, Hoai An was found abandoned in a plastic bag that was placed on a tree. The girl had an open head wound, bug bites, and other health issues.

As reported by The Straits Times, a farmer discovered her in the plantation. He heard crying coming from a tree.

The child was also diagnosed with hydranencephaly, a rare disorder with symptoms including seizures, paralysis, blindness, and an enlarged head, according to Channel News Asia.

She was given less than a year to live, said doctors.

The girl had no known family and was adopted by Buddhist nuns at the Hue Quang temple near Da Lat, the Straits Times noted. Before that, she was rushed to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital for treatment on April 10 after donations poured in.

A Mount Elizabeth Hospital spokesman said its medical staff were saddened to learn about Hoai An’s death.

“She was a spirited baby who fought bravely despite her condition. We would like to extend our condolences to Venerable Minh Tai and her caretakers,” the spokesman said, as reported by the Times. “May Hoai An rest in peace.”

“The winds of impermanence have shaken the last succulent leaf off the branches of life, with no time for a new plantlet to sprout,” noted Venerable Minh Tai, known for her charitable efforts in Vietnam, according to Channel News Asia. “May you soon be reborn into a better world.”

Weeks before her death, Dr. Tang Kok Kee, a neurosurgeon leading the team treating Hoai, told The Straits Times that he had hope.

“I wouldn’t write her off at this point; that would be wrong. There is a chance her prognosis will improve,” he explained.

“When I first saw her, my heart ached when I imagined the pain and suffering she endured, and tears started flowing from my eyes. I could not believe that a parent would do this to their own child,” added Minh Tai to Channel News Asia.

Other Abandoned Babies in Southeast Asia

In May, a newborn baby girl in Thailand was found abandoned with a number of injuries, including numerous bug bites, near Bangkok.

Upon discovery, the girl’s skin looked raw and painful after she was bitten by the insects and was exposed to the elements in the field.

Officials said the child hadn’t sustained serious injuries, but they added that her forehead was bitten by insects, the Daily Mail reported.

The report said she was found wrapped in a tiny blanket;  and her umbilical cord wasn’t cut, which probably meant she wasn’t more than one day old.

The baby was taken to Lat Krabang Hospital. Nurses there have been taking care of the child, who has not been named, according to the outlet.

Police are now searching for her parents.

“We believe that the parents might live nearby the area,” Lieutenant Colonel Samart Klinklao, inspector of Chalong Krung police station was quoted by the paper as saying.

And in another incident that same week, a baby boy was abandoned by his mother in Thailand before he was discovered by a dog, the Chiang Rai Times reported.

The child’s mother, 15, is said to have abandoned the child to hide her pregnancy.

The dog, Ping Pong, was digging a field in Ban Nong Kham village before its owner saw the baby’s leg sticking out of the ground.