Izindaba

Young mother in court over baby abandonment charges

A 23-year-old mother is expected to appear at the Verulam Magistrate’s court on Monday to answer baby abandonment charges.

The young woman was arrested last week. This was after she abandoned her three month old baby near a stream in the Verulam area.

She then ran away leaving the baby with a note apologising for abandoning it. The young mother said she had tried all other avenues to no avail. 

The mother, who cannot be named, asked in the note that the public not judge her. She can only be named after pleading in court.

She has also accused the hospitals for applying strict rules on abortion and social workers for delaying her adoption process.

“Hi, you might be wondering why I dumped my baby. Don’t wonder just help her if you can or call authorities. 

“But don’t judge me, l have spoken twice with social workers but they are delaying to assist.  

“I know this looks bad but I had no (other) option. The system is fragile and we can’t even abort safely anymore… Hospitals have strict rules.” reads the message on her note.

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The baby was discovered by a man who had gone to collect mangoes from the trees around the area.

However, there were no details of the child’s father in the epistle. The mango picker alerted the authorities. 

They responded quickly to the scene. Paramedics examined the baby and found her to be in excellent health condition.

After receiving a public backlash on social media, the young mother handed herself over the police. 

She was immediately arrested for child abandonment and taken to court on Thursday. She was later released on a R500 bail.

– by Our Correspondent

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