Durban - A newborn baby was retrieved from a pit latrine (toilet) in Mafakathini, in Taylor's Halt in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday. A charge of child abandonment has been opened by SAPS.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said police officers from the Pietermaritzburg Search and Rescue and SAPS K9 unit members were called out to the scene after residents heard the baby girl's cries on Saturday morning.
"The baby was rescued from the pit latrine. Residents cleaned faeces off the baby and officers clamped the baby's umbilical chord, which had been cut off by the mother using a pair of scissors during the birth. Officers examined the baby for any injuries and both mother and baby were taken to the Northdale Hospital," she said.
Both mother and baby are recovering.
According to KZN SAPS's Brigadier Jay Naicker, Taylor's Halt SAPS have opened a case of concealment of birth. He said the case has been transferred to the Plessislaer SAPS FCS for further investigation.
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