Police officers and cleaners inspect the contents of a bin at a rubbish chute, after a baby was found alive among rubbish in a bin at a public housing estate in Singapore, January 7, 2020. Lim Yaohui/The Straits Times via REUTERS

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Rubbish collectors rescued a baby from a bin at the bottom of a trash chute in Singapore on Tuesday, an MP and media said, a rare case in the wealthy city-state.

Refuse workers found the baby in a bloody plastic bag while clearing the rubbish chute, the Straits Times said, quoting one who said the baby was crying when discovered.

Pictures showed a man cradling a baby, cleaners inspecting a bin and police cordons at the block.

In a statement, police said the child, found in stable condition with no visible injuries, had been taken to hospital. They did not identify the area where he was found, and said they were investigating the matter.

“A baby was found alive by one of our town council cleaners in the bin chute,” said politician Pritam Singh, adding that he had been told by the town council.

“Had the worker not found the blessed child, he could have been crushed by the compactor where all rubbish is centrally disposed in the precinct,” Singh, leader of the opposition Workers’ Party, said in a Facebook post.

Singapore is struggling with low birth rates and a fast-ageing population, with the latest data showing the number of births fell to an eight-year low in 2018.

Over the past decade, there have been 16 cases of abandoned babies in Singapore, the Straits Times said.