A NIGHT at the casino ended in childbirth and heartbreak for a woman last Wednesday.

The woman, who is believed to be Vietnamese and a permanent resident here, gave birth to a baby boy just outside the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino, but the infant died hours later.

An RWS spokesman told The Straits Times that the woman approached a female guest service ambassador inside the casino to seek medical assistance that day.

Chinese evening daily Shin Min reported that the woman was heavily pregnant, and was experiencing stomach pains while in the casino. She had called out in pain, alarming the people around her.

RWS confirmed that its staff went to her aid and helped deliver the baby outside the casino.

Both mother and child were taken quickly to the Shenton Medical Group clinic located at the basement of the integrated resort, where a paramedic confirmed that the baby was alive.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was notified of the incident at 11.12pm. But when its ambulance arrived six minutes later, the SCDF team found that the baby had no pulse.

Mother and child were then taken to Singapore General Hospital. According to Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao, the infant was pronounced dead at 2.37am.

Shin Min reported that the woman's husband is a German who works in Singapore.

It is understood that the baby suffered from an undisclosed condition before birth, and the couple had been aware of it.

It is not known whether the baby was born prematurely.

The parents reportedly went to the morgue yesterday morning to collect the body before going to Mandai Crematorium in the afternoon.

Wanbao said the couple had already prepared a birth certificate for the baby, and listed "Resorts World Sentosa" as the place of birth. The baby was named Marina Seifert.

The newspaper said the parents had bought new clothes for their child, but these were used as funeral clothing instead.