Johannesburg - A mother of two children has been arrested in Jabulani, Soweto and charged with culpable homicide for alleged negligence which led to their death at the weekend, Gauteng police said on Monday.
The 31-year-old woman was arrested on Monday morning, Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.
The children, aged 4 and 6, died on Saturday night on their way to hospital after the building they were in caught fire.
The woman allegedly locked the children alone in a flat with a heater switched on.
“Police have found that the mother was negligent by locking the kids inside, while the heater was on,” Makhubela said.
She would appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court soon.
The children were pronounced dead at the hospital on Saturday, after neighbours broke in to help them after their home caught fire.
Makhubela said, at the time, the woman and her boyfriend allegedly tried to take the children's bodies from hospital without informing police.
Police had initially opened an inquest docket with child neglect charges. The charge was changed to culpable homicide. - Sapa