Cape Town - The Department of Social Development has condemned the murder of an infant boy at Mitchells Plain Day Hospital after he was allegedly choked to death by his mother.
After the incident the 32-year-old mother allegedly hid her son’s lifeless body under a mattress. She was arrested and charged with murder at the weekend.
In a statement the department said it would help the police in their investigation of a neonaticide (baby murdered within 28 days of life).
“As the custodians of the
Children’s Act of 2005, social workers from our Mitchells Plain local office have intervened to protect the other four children the woman has.
“We condemn this brutal murder and the alleged circumstances of this incident in the strongest terms possible,” the department said.
“We continue to appeal to expectant mothers and fathers, and parents of newborn children, to approach our social workers for assistance and family planning interventions.
The mother is set to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.