KICUKIRO - Police in Kanombe, Kicukiro District are holding a woman for abandoning her 6-weeks old baby in the house.

The 17-year old was arrested in Gatsata, Gasabo District after residents discovered the toddler abandoned in the house and notified the police.

The baby is reported to spent over 24 hours before the police came to its rescue on Tuesday morning.

It is alleged that the woman had abandoned the baby to embark on commercial sex work in Gatsata, Kigali, where she was staying along with other sex workers at the time of her arrest.

The woman claimed that she dumped the child because she had no place for it.

Child-related crimes have been on the rise in the recent past, according to police statistics. About 39 child-abuse cases which include infanticide, abandonment and abortion were reported in the last three months only.

Police Spokesman, Supt. Theos Badege cautioned those involved in child related crimes.

"If you are incapable of raising the child you conceived, you may seek assistance from family members. The government also has the responsibility of taking care of these children if their parents have no capacity to do so,” Badege said.

If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison.

Ends