An orthopaedic surgeon testified in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday at the trial of a couple accused of abusing their baby.
Dr Helene Basson treated the infant, who was five months old, at the Eugène Marais Hospital in July last year.
She told the court that the child had 27 fractures in her body, including a broken femur, ribs and collarbone.
The parents were arrested in August last year after Afriforum's Private Prosecution Unit stepped in to assist a doctor and private social worker to bring the matter to trial.
A spokesperson for Afriforum Jacques Broodryk says the doctors initially laid a charge with the Police and the Department of Social Development who recommended the child be removed from her parent's care.
He says the matter was, however, scrapped off the roll.
When the child was admitted to hospital a second time with similar injuries, doctors approached Afriforum's Private Prosecution Unit.
According to Dr Basson's testimony, the fractures were comparable with continuous episodes of physical actions, like those of a baby who was held around the body with both hands and then shaken.
Both parents are pleading not guilty.
The trial continues.
