Malalane - A 24-year-old Mpumalanga woman suspected of being mentally ill has been arrested for choking and biting her one-year-old daughter to death.
The accused, who cannot be named until she has appeared in court, was arrested at her home in Zibokwane village near the Swazi and Mozambican border on Wednesday morning, a Sapa correspondent reported.
This was after community members reported that she was seen attacking her daughter around 2am.
“We have arrested a woman who seemed to be mentally ill when she was found killing her daughter. Police who were on duty attended to the complaint,” said Tonga police spokesman Lieutenant Mzwandile Nyambi.
“Upon their arrival they found the deceased lying on the ground with bite marks on the upper body and scratch marks on the neck.”
After her arrest, the accused was taken to a local hospital under police guard.
Tonga police station commissioner Brigadier Velisiwe Mdaka urged the community to take care of mentally disabled people to avoid similar incidents.
“Please make sure that you keep kids in a safe place and stop leaving them with unfit people in order to prevent such crimes from occurring.”
The woman would appear in court as soon as she was discharged from hospital.
Sapa