Durban — A Durban mother charged with the murder of her toddler daughter has requested that she be handed her cellphone, which was confiscated by the police.
But the state told her that the cellphone contained important information which could be used as evidence.
The 33-year-old mother appeared briefly at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for the murder of her three-year-old daughter.
It is alleged that on May 31, 2022, Tensile Ursula Kok, 33, strangled and killed her daughter Chantel Kok by battering her to death with a rolling pin in a flat on Dr Yusuf Dadoo (formerly Grey) Street.
Chantel was beaten just two months after being returned to her biological mother’s custody, as she had been with her foster mother since the age of three weeks. This came after Kok allegedly struggled to cope with a “crying baby”.
On the day of the incident, it is believed Kok had visited a clinic in the Overport area with her one-year-old baby, while Chantel and the eldest child remained in the flat.
It is alleged Chantel urinated on the floor after Kok told her to jump into the toilet pan.
According to the charge sheet, Chantel was allegedly hit repeatedly on her head and face with a rolling pin before her mother strangled her until she stopped crying.
Kok then dumped the child on the floor and covered her with a blanket.
On Wednesday, Kok told the court that she wanted her cellphone back, which had been confiscated by the police.
However, senior state prosecutor Calvin Govender argued that the cellphone contained vital information which needed to be verified and used as evidence.
A mental status examination revealed that Kok was a mental health patient, but had abandoned her psychological medication, according to an assessment affidavit by Dr Jabulani Mthethwa. The matter was adjourned to October 14 for further investigation.
Daily News