The director of a maternity clinic in Yokohama has admitted disposing dismembered aborted fetuses in the city's ordinary garbage, city officials said Friday.

The officials quoted Keido Harada, director of the Isezaki Clinic, as saying he wanted to cut down on the clinic's expenses and was aware that throwing away aborted fetuses with regular waste was illegal.

The law states that aborted fetuses should either be cremated or buried.

After officials pointed out discrepancies in the clinic's records and Harada's version of events, he admitted that he had used scissors to cut off fetuses' limbs and had dumped the parts into the regular garbage.

The fetuses were aborted at more than 12 weeks, the officials said. Harada has been denying these allegations since the case recently came to light. The Yokohama Municipal Government may file a criminal complaint against the clinic.