Alleged baby-snatcher appears in court
A 30-year-old woman has been charged with kidnapping a newborn baby boy from a Durban hospital over the weekend.
|||Durban – A 30-year-old woman appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, facing a charge of kidnapping.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said the woman was arrested in the KwaNyuswa area in Hillcrest on Monday after police followed up information.
Zwane said the suspect, on Saturday, allegedly approached a mother at a Durban hospital who had given birth to a baby boy, and offered to give her a lift home.
“The victim and the suspect went out from hospital and proceeded to Durban where the suspect offered food to the victim. Later, the suspect allegedly gave money to the victim to go and buy airtime while the suspect was waiting with her baby boy at a taxi rank”.
When the mother returned, her baby and the suspect were gone.
The suspect was traced to the KwaNyuswa area and the baby was found alive and reunited with his mother after a medical check-up.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni praised Durban Central police officers involved in the case: “I am also happy that the child was found alive as in some cases, missing children are found dead. The child has been re-united with his mother in a good healthy condition”.
African News Agency