Game addict mother arrested for abandoning newborn

Police said they have taken into custody a female game addict on charges of abandoning her newborn baby boy, leading to his death, police said Thursday.

The 25-year-old suspect, whose identity was withheld, allegedly gave birth to the baby in a public bathroom while playing online games in an overnight session at a so-called "PC bang," or 24-hour Internet cafe, on March.25, according to the Songpa Police Station. She put the baby into a garbage bag and left it on the street.

The abandoned newborn was found dead in a nearby garbage can two days later, police said. The CCTV footage shows that a cleaning crew put the garbage bag into the trash can a day earlier.

"(The suspect) was a serious game addict," a police officer said. "She was even unaware her water had broken while she was playing online games."

The suspect reportedly told the police she was not sure how to raise her child.

Since breaking up with the baby's father whom she met through an Internet chat service, the woman has been living in PC bangs, the police said. She begged for money from strangers she contacted on online game Web sites.

The police said they plan to seek an arrest warrant for the mother, so they can continue to detain her. (Yonhap)