England - A 22-year-old mother who killed her newborn baby by hiding it in a cereal box has been sentenced to life in prison.

Jia Xin Teo must spend at least 17 years in prison after being found guilty of murder last Friday.

The young woman had traveled to England from Malaysia a few months ago to begin her studies.

As The Sun reports, she gave birth to a healthy baby on March 4 before placing it in a cereal box. She then wrapped the box in plastic wrap and hid it in a suitcase.

As Teo kept her pregnancy a secret, none of her fellow students knew about the child. When she prevented anyone from entering her room after the birth, a fellow student finally had to force his way in and found the 22-year-old covered in blood.

He immediately called an ambulance, but the new mother initially refused medical help. However, as her condition continued to deteriorate, she finally took a cab to hospital to be examined.

During the examination, Teo initially denied that she had given birth. However, after some tests, the doctors discovered that she had recently been pregnant. The hospital staff then alerted the police, as no one knew what had happened to the baby.

It was only two days later that the officers discovered the deceased baby, after Teo had confessed to the crime.

During questioning, the 22-year-old explained that she had been afraid that her family in Malaysia would find out about the pregnancy and that the child would jeopardize her study plans.

She also claimed to have heard voices telling her to hurt and kill the child.

However, the judge did not believe Teo's testimony, stating, "You knew that by sealing the plastic bag, your baby would surely die, and you thought that no one would find the body if you hid it in a cereal box in your luggage."

The judge added that she was convinced Teo deliberately gave birth to the child alone to keep her pregnancy a secret and get rid of the child undetected.