THE unlikely occurrence of dumped rubbish in a small open veld on Maxwell Street led to the discovery of the body of a new-born baby on Wednesday morning.
This is the second dead baby found dumped in 24 hours after a similar incident in Chloorkop on Tuesday morning.
A woman living in the house next to the small veld on Maxwell Street made the grisly find while she was fetching the house mop outside.
“It was about 9am when I went outside to fetch the mop, which we keep in a small space between the garage and the wall separating the yard and the veld,” the resident told EXPRESS.
“As I reached for the mop, I noticed there was some rubbish discarded in the veld, which never happens, because the residents around here keep it clean.”
As she looked further, she saw what looked like intestines.
“At first I thought it was chicken intestines. When I looked properly, I saw a tiny human leg peeping out of a plastic bag.”
What the woman had stumbled upon was the body of a new-born baby, wrapped in a black plastic bag. Next to it were a white plastic shopping bag and pieces of blood-stained, torn-up newspaper.
The woman said she got such a fright she immediately let out a scream and jumped backwards.
“I informed one of the tenants living here and he immediately called the police.”
Kempton Police spokesman, Capt Jethro Mtshali, said a case of concealment of birth will be investigated.
Mtshali said the biggest concern here was that this type of incident happened during a time when the country was celebrating women.
“It’s so unfortunate that we have to deal with cases such as these during Women’s Month,” Mtshali said.
He urged the community not to leave unwanted babies for dead but rather give them up for adoption.
“We appeal to the community and women especially, to never dump a new-born baby and leave it for dead. There are facilities such as hospitals and children’s centres that can take in unwanted babies and care for them,” Mtshali concluded.
