Irish backpacker charged with hiding body of her newborn baby in Australia

 

Halls Creek: The backpacker is said to have given birth alone in the small town

An Irish backpacker has been charged with hiding the body of her newborn baby in Western Australia.

The 25-year-old was travelling with friends in a remote region of Kimberly and didn't realise she was pregnant, the Irish Mirror reports.

According to reports she gave birth sometime in May while at home alone in the town of Halls Creek.

It's believe the woman hid the infants body for several days before telling her friends that she had given birth.

When they found out they rushed her to a nearby hospital where staff notified police.

Reports say the child was stillborn.

Western Australia's Major Crime Squad were called in to investigate the infant's death and they later charged the woman with concealing the birth.

The law in Australia requires all births to be reported, even if the baby has died of natural causes.

Remote: The woman was travelling in Kimberly, Australia

The woman appeared in Kununurra Court at the end of June and the case was referred to a higher court in Perth, where she is due to appear again later this year.

It is understood the woman has to remain in the Perth area while awaiting court proceedings on the charge which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail .

Speaking to ABC news, Western Australia Criminal Lawyers Association president, Linda Black, has said the case is unusual.

"It's a charge that seems to be rarely used, I can't recall the last time I heard of anyone being charged with this".

She added: "Most countries around the world have a law requiring births to be reported, no matter what the circumstances.

"It's a charge that's certainly not unique to Western Australia.

"Without wanting to trivialise the matter, we just can't have people storing dead bodies all over the place without it being brought to the attention of the authorities and dealt with in a proper and formal way, so I think there's a strong public policy behind it."

People in the town where the woman was hospitalised have said they are surprised that the woman has been charged.

One resident said: "The experience of giving birth to a stillborn child in a foreign country must have been very traumatic, especially when it was unexpected."

Ms Black added that police should always use discretion in cases such as this, stating that some thought must be given as to whether or not a criminal charge is appropriate.