A 35-year-old woman who allegedly burnt the body of a newborn at a dump site in Tshepiso, Vanderbijlpark, is currently receiving medical attention.
“The suspect has not appeared in the court as she is in hospital. The case opened is murder and forensic results are still outstanding to confirm if she is the biological mother of the infant,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello.
Last week, a local media Sedibeng Ster reported that a recycler allegedly saw the woman pushing a wheelbarrow to the site where she dumped and burnt the baby’s body.
The publication also quoted police spokesperson Sgt Thembeka Maxambela, who said the eyewitness called the caretaker of the site.
The woman was thereafter arrested at her home after the community was alerted to the incident. DA MPL Refiloe Nt’sekhe called on the Gauteng department of social development to prioritise awareness campaigns to combat gender-based violence and child abuse, ensure it spends its allocated budget service delivery and poverty alleviation.