CrimeNews

Police concerned about lost toddlers

The police in Tzaneen are appealling to parents to always know the whereabouts of their children or who they children are with.

This comes after a two year old toddler was found wandering at the CBD on Wednesday 12 August during midday.

The child whose name is withheld to protect her identity, was brought to the police station by security officers.

Letaba Herald also assisted in finding the child’s relatives through Facebook posts. together with other community members.

Fortunately soon after the spreading of the word, the mother of the child was reunited with her daughter.

According to Sergeant Maurice Nkhwashu, the mother said she had left the child with a stranger to go to the shops to buy some items she needed at home.

“The matter was referred to social workers to assess the stability of the family’s set up and as well as the mental condition of the parent,” he said.

Also read:Tzaneen: Police warn community against syndicate stealing cars

On Tuesday 7 July another toddler (3) was also found wandering at the Tzaneng Mall by security officers, who took him to the police station.

Nkhwashu told the Herald that the boy’s mother had left him with his 9 year old brother outside a shop, while she went inside to buy groceries.

When the mother finished shopping she only found the older sibling where she had told him to stay without the young boy.

“We went to the bus rank and asked around if anyone new the child, fortunately enough the mother was also reunited with her child after the police’s efforts,” Nkhwashu explained.

He also added that parents must never lose sight of their kids nor leave them with strangers anywhere especially in town or shopping malls.

“Parents must write their phone nmbers and put in their children’s pockets and also report to the police station immediately if the child is missing.

“In a case where we find that the parent was negligent, we will charge them with child neglect,” he added.

Anyone who find a child lost or wandering they have to report the matter to the nearest police station or call 10 111.

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Emelda Tintswalo Shipalana

Tintswalo Shipalana, a journalist for the Letaba Herald, has been in the media industry for over a decade. She started her journey in radio, but ended up in print which is her first love. She joined the Herald newspaper as a cadet in 2016, where she graduated with a journalism qualification from the Caxton Training Academy. She also has a qualification in Feature Writing from the University of Cape Town and a Media Management qualification from Wits University. She is completing her BA Communication Science degree with UNISA. She sleeps well at night knowing she is a voice to the voiceless and her work contributes to promoting local talent, businesses and service delivery. Her love for her community keeps her working hard every day.

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