Charge filed against mom of newborn left in drain

This photo released by New South Wales Police shows a newborn baby who was found Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014 abandoned in a drain in the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill, Australia. Police are questioning a 20-year-old woman whose newborn baby was found abandoned in a drain next to a busy freeway by a group of cyclists. The baby, who is only a few days old, was in a serious but stable condition in Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital, police said in a statement.(AP Photo/NSW Police) This photo released by New South Wales Police shows a newborn baby who was found Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014 abandoned in a drain in the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill, Australia. Police are questioning a 20-year-old woman whose newborn baby was found abandoned in a drain next to a busy freeway by a group of cyclists. The baby, who is only a few days old, was in a serious but stable condition in Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital, police said in a statement.(AP Photo/NSW Police)

By Associated Press November 24, 2014 3 min read

SYDNEY (AP) – A 30-year-old Sydney mother has been charged with trying to kill her newborn son by abandoning him in a roadside drain for five days before passers-by heard his cries, police said Monday.

The week-old baby was in serious but stable condition in Westmead Children’s Hospital a day after cyclists found him in a 2.5-meter (8-foot) deep drain beside the M7 Motorway in the suburb of Quakers Hill, police said in a statement.

His mother, Saifale Nai, did not appear in court to answer the attempted murder charge. Her lawyer did not enter a plea and the magistrate formally refused her bail.

Nai will remain in custody until her next court appearance on Friday. She would face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.

“Police will allege the baby, believed to have been born on Monday (Nov. 17), was placed into the drain on Tuesday,” the police statement said.