Hong Kong  - A man accused of being an illegal abortionist was expected to be charged Friday after a baby girl survived a late-term abortion and then being wrapped in plastic bags and abandoned with a bag of rubbish.

The accused, 67, was traced by police from closed-circuit television video inside a supermarket where the baby was found. He was due to be charged with performing an illegal abortion and abandoning an infant.

Police in Hong Kong were also searching for the mother of the baby girl.

The infant was delivered after induced labour. Police said the abortionist, thinking the baby was born dead, sent the mother home from his clinic before realizing the newborn was still moving.

Panicking, he then wrapped the child in newspapers, three paper bags and two layers of plastic bags before dumping her November 1 on top of a rubbish bag in a Hong Kong supermarket, said police, who did not release how far along her mother's pregnancy was.

Later, a supermarket worker saw something move inside the plastic bags and thought it was an animal before discovering the newborn girl with her umbilical cord still attached.

Police were called to the supermarket in Hong Kong's North Point district, and the baby girl was rushed to hospital. She has a congenital heart defect but was Friday in stable condition.

A woman, 72, who is believed to have leased the clinic to the abortionist, was also arrested. She had not been charged with any offences.

Police have appealed for the mother of the baby girl to come forward and contact them. (dpa)