Grandfather of infant allegedly buried alive under investigation

A man in his 50s surrendered to local police on Sunday, saying he is the grandfather of a child who was allegedly buried alive on a mountain in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, two months ago, Shandong Business Daily reported.

The man said the baby is the younger child of a set of twins born at a local hospital. While his elder brother was in perfect health, he was diagnosed with multiple diseases at the time.

The family decided to give up medical treatment on him, and they held a ceremony to bury the boy after it appeared he had died at home, he said.

He only realized the truth that the boy was still alive after watching TV news on Saturday, and chose to come forward to police.

The man is under investigation at the Yangliu Police Station in Xintai, a county-level city near Jinan in Shandong province.

The child was found in late August by two villagers surnamed Zhou and Jiao in Nanbaita village of Jinan when they were digging for mushrooms on a remote mountain and heard a faint cry beneath the ground.

They started digging immediately, and uncovered a cement plate buried underground. Thinking there might be an infant, they reported it to the local police and then, with the help of a third villager, they unearthed a paper box with a living newborn inside.

The three men took the infant to a local hospital, where a doctor conducted a basic check-up on the child.

The baby was not in critical condition, but was jaundiced, according to the doctor.

The infant was later sent to the Second Children and Women's Healthcare of Jinan city for further examination and treatment.

Zhou Shanghong, a rural doctor at Baita village, has been taking care of the baby during the past two months and has paid over 40,000 yuan for the baby's treatment in hospital, Jinan Times reported on Sunday.