Letter from Older Sibling Who Left Baby in Pejaten: Please Look After My Baby Sister; Our Mother Died in Childbirth

JAKARTA — A 12-year-old child with the initials Z is suspected of abandoning a two-day-old baby at a nasi uduk cart on Jalan Pejaten Raya, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, on Tuesday afternoon (3 March 2026).

The allegation stems from a scrap of paper found with the baby in a black shopping bag. ‘The baby girl is believed to be two days old, based on what was written on the note by someone with the initials Z, who is suspected of deliberately abandoning the baby at the scene,’ said Pasar Minggu Police Chief Kompol Anggiat Sinambela in a statement on Tuesday (3 March 2026). ‘My sister was born on 2 March 2026,’ the note read. In the note, Z says their mother died while giving birth to AR. Therefore, Z entrusted AR to a member of the public who found her. ‘Assalamualaikum, Sir/Madam who found my sister, I, Z, would like to ask you to take care of my sister because my mother died during childbirth,’ wrote Z. He hopes anyone who finds AR will take good care of her. ‘Please treat her as your own child, because I will not be able to find or visit her again; I do not want her future to be like mine. Thank you,’ the note concluded.

Anggiat said the baby was found by a local resident named Dinda. In addition to the note, a red baby bottle, wet wipes, and blue baby gloves were found in the bag. The discovery began when a witness heard a baby’s cry on the second floor of her house. After searching, the cry came from the nasi uduk cart in front of her home. ‘Witness Dinda heard the baby’s cry from the direction of the cart in front of the house,’ Anggiat said. ‘After Dinda found the baby, she alerted her mother, and the baby was brought into the house,’ Anggiat added. The baby was subsequently taken to Pasar Minggu Community Health Centre (Puskesmas Pasar Minggu) before being handled by the Social Services Office (Dinas Sosial). To date, police are still investigating the case. Police have checked CCTV around the scene and are requesting statements from witnesses.