Pretoria - The family violence, child protection and sexual offences (FCS) unit of the South African Police Service in Nelspruit are appealing to community members to help them locate a woman who abandoned her newborn baby boy.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the baby was abandoned in a restroom at a shopping mall last month and was taken by authorities to a place of safety.
“According to the report, the baby was found by the cleaners in one of the restrooms at Ilanga Mall, wrapped in a blanket and the authorities were immediately notified. The baby was taken to a place of safety and police are investigating a case of child abandonment,” said Mohlala.
“Police urge anyone with information that may assist locate the baby's mother or family, to contact Detective Sergeant Solly Mabuza at 066 341 7821 or call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111. Alternatively, members of the public can send information via MySAPSApp. All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous.”
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela has urged mothers or women to seek assistance through the relevant structures if they are facing challenges at any stage during pregnancy or after delivering.
In July, the Child Welfare Tshwane urged stranded mothers to work with the organisation instead of abandoning their babies. The call came after four babies were found abandoned across Tshwane that month.
Nina de Caires, supervisor at the organisation’s adoptions unit, said they had noticed an increase in the number of babies being abandoned in the Tshwane area.
At the time, De Caires said there had been a baby girl from Atteridgeville found in a bucket, while a boy was abandoned at the gates of the Jubilee District Hospital in Temba, Hammanskraal.
Another baby, a newborn girl, was found abandoned in Soshanguve and taken to the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital to be assessed.
African News Agency (ANA)