Police in Asahi, Chiba prefecture, said Monday that the remains of a fetus were discovered having been flushed into drainage pipes of an apartment building, and that a 21-year-old Thai woman living in the apartment is being questioned.

Police received a call on Sunday morning from a plumber who said that he had been called to fix the pipes of an apartment where the Thai woman said she could not flush her toilet properly, Sankei reported. When the drainage pipes were cleared, the plumber noticed that the remains of a fetus came out. The 30-cm-long female fetus, which was still attached to the placenta, was estimated to have been six months old.

Police said the Thai woman living in the apartment has been arrested for remaining in the country illegally following the expiration of her visa in January. The woman was quoted by police as saying she had bled heavily into the toilet some time ago.

© Japan Today