The Mysterious Man in the Pasar Minggu Abandoned Baby Case

JAKARTA — In the wake of the discovery of a baby girl in a nasi uduk cart on the end of a narrow alley on Jalan Pejaten Raya, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, there was a man seen by residents. The man was seen about an hour before the infant, initials AR, was found by the nasi uduk cart owner. According to residents, the man did not appear to be a 12-year-old as described in a note left behind. Police are still tracing the identity of the man suspected of deliberately leaving the baby there. The man wore a light brown jacket and carried a black cloth bag. He was only seen briefly. Two minutes later, the man passed by again, this time without the bag in his hand. He appeared focused on his phone. ‘There was a man like a father passing by, carrying a dark bag. It was around 16:30 WIB,’ Ati, who was at home, said on Thursday (5 March 2026). At that time Ati did not suspect anything. She thought the man was a delivery rider delivering an order. She let the incident pass and continued with her activities. She only connected the man with the discovery of the baby at her neighbour’s house the next morning. Ati immediately told Marlinah, a resident who found the baby in her nasi uduk cart. ‘Not a child, an adult,’ Ati said. The man initially she suspected as a courier delivering items to Marlinah’s house. She also suspected that the courier and the homeowner had agreed to leave the item in front of the house without needing to call the residents first. ‘I thought, here the neighbours often order packages. I didn’t ask. Then not long after, about two minutes later, he was gone, no longer carrying the package,’ she said.