4 fetuses found in trash at Thai resort town

BANGKOK – Garbage collectors have found four fetuses in the trash at a popular Thai resort town, police said Wednesday.

Police Lt. Sommit Petchpradab said the fetuses were discovered Tuesday by garbage collectors in Hua Hin, 145 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Bangkok. He said they were found together in a large black plastic bag.

Sommit said police are still investigating the case. He said two of the fetuses had a gestational age of between six and eight months, one between three and four months and the other between eight and 10 weeks.

There are legal restrictions on abortion in Thailand, and the procedure is generally socially taboo, so some women patronize underground abortion clinics. In 2010, police discovered over 2,000 fetuses hidden at a Buddhist temple which appeared to have come from illegal abortion clinics.