Durban – Police have confirmed a foetus wrapped in a linen saver was found in a shallow grave in Umzumbe on the KZN South Coast on Monday.
According to KZN police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, police officers from Port Shepstone Search and Rescue and K9 Search and Rescue were called out for a possible concealment of birth.
“The K9 Bear was utilised at an area pointed out by eyewitness and after a positive reaction the area was carefully dug open and a foetus wrapped in a linen saver was found in the shallow grave.
“The foetus was placed in a small body bag and handed over to forensic pathology services on scene and all role players in attendance.”
A concealment of birth docket was opened at Hibberdene SAPS.
In a separate incident, in September, a mother of three was convicted of dumping her baby in a storm water drain and sentenced to three years in prison.
The baby girl was rescued after community members heard a baby crying in a storm water drain in Barracuda Road and Herring Circle in Newlands East in February 2019.
The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her minor children, was sentenced in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court.
Earlier this year, Open Arms SA, an organisation that helps with orphaned babies, appealed to women not to dump their newborn babies.
They advised expectant mothers to seek advice on where they could leave their babies if they did not want to keep them.
IOL