A 37-year-old woman, who allegedly dumped her newborn baby in a taxi in Embo, near Hillcrest, in Durban, has been arrested police said on Wednesday.
This follows an incident that took place on 2 December in which a newborn child was left in a taxi at the Pavilion taxi rank.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, said the dumped baby was discovered by a taxi driver who was alerted by the sound of crying from the seats at the back after he had dropped off all his passengers at the Pavilion Taxi rank.
“A closer look revealed a young baby wrapped in a blanket with a hand written note on top as well as the medication. The child was in a bad state, the eyes had swollen and the nappy had not been changed,” Gwala said.
The taxi driver informed the police and the child was immediately taken to hospital for medical attention. A case docket was thereafter opened at the Westville Police Station and handed to the Pinetown FCS Unit for investigation.
“It was a hard case to crack because there were no witnesses and the note left with the child did not reveal much about the mother. From the medication left with the child the detectives ascertained that the medication was issued at St Marys Hospital in Marrianhill,” said Gwala.
Gwala said their investigation at the hospital revealed not much about the mother’s personal details. He said she had registered an incomplete residential address and did not leave her cellphone number.
Detectives, however, persisted and found a cell phone number of the mother’s relatives in Kokstad.
The relatives claimed the dumped baby’s mother was still in hospital with the child, which they said was born prematurely.
They claimed they did not have her cellphone number, but they told the police they were expecting her to return home with the child before Christmas.
Police eventually tracked down the mother of the dumped baby and arrested her on Tuesday.
She will appear at the Pinetown Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
– African News Agency (ANA)
