A 45-year-old woman and her daughter have been committed to stand trial in the National Court at Waigani on a charge of infanticide.

Mai Manu, of Laulaura village in Central Province, and her 21-year-old daughter, Nanu Nancy Ipai, are alleged to have caused the death of Ipai’s newborn son by throwing him into a river.

The two were arrested on Somare Beach in Moreguina, Kupiano, and charged on November 2 last year.

Magistrate Andrew Baigry rejected a no-case submission from defence lawyer Vuatha Kapa.

He said there was no doubt that Ipai delivered a male child and that Manu assisted in the delivery.

There was no evidence to prove that the child was alive, but the question was why the birth was not brought to the attention of the authorities.

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