Mom and two children die after eating poisoned meat

Mpumalanga police have opened an inquest as well as a case of culpable homicide following the death of a mother and her two children after they had eaten meat contaminated with rat poison, Lowvelder reports.

The incident happened at KwaGuqa in eMalahleni on August 21 at around 13:00. According to police spokesperson, Brig Leonard Hlathi, the 49-year-old mother is believed to have committed suicide by ingesting rat poison, which also killed her two children.

“The woman ate chicken that had allegedly been sprinkled with rat poison. “Two of her children, a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, were in the same house where it is further alleged that the woman left some pieces of the meat and went into another room.

“They also ate it and were then found by their older brother, who rushed them to the local clinic. Unfortunately they were certified dead upon arrival,” he said.

Hlathi added that police have registered an inquest as well as a culpable homicide docket for investigation, as the woman left a note indicating that her family should take care of her children.

The provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Mondli Zuma, expressed shock at the incident. He urged the community to seek help when confronted by challenges or any other social ills.