A young mother reportedly attempted to smuggle her baby out of the Philippines in a rucksack.

Authorities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) found the two-month-old infant concealed in his 25-year-old mother’s bag on Monday evening, according to network ABS-CBN.

The sleeping child was only discovered when the backpack was scanned by the X-ray machine at airport security.

The mother, from Papa New Guinea, was identified as nursing graduate Jenifer Pavolaurea. She claimed she had hidden her son because she did not have the correct documentation for him to leave the country.

Vicente L Guerzon Jr, assistant general manager for security and emergency services of the Manila International Airport Authority, told the broadcaster that Pavolaurea had already been questioned for staying in the Philippines after her immigration clearance had run out.

However, she was eventually allowed to continue her journey to Papua New Guinea and no charges were brought.

It is not the first instance of parents attempting to smuggle their relatively-newborns abroad. In 2012 an Egyptian couple put their five-month-old baby in their hand luggage because they did not have the right visa for him to enter the UAE.

He too was discovered when the bag went through a security check, but was unharmed.