Child’s coffin dumped in CBD

A simple matter of dumping, or a more sinister mystery?

Some residents have asked this question, after a destroyed child’s coffin was discovered in a refuse bin, near the intersection of Voortrekker and Harding Streets.

The Advertiser investigated, after a tip-off from an alert passer-by.

Rosemary Dhlamini, who is a car guard in the area, said the coffin had been abandoned in the early hours of the morning, before she arrived for work.

However, she was initially unaware of the bin’s exact contents.

“I only saw it from a distance,” the distraught Mrs Dhlamini explained. “I didn’t know what it actually was.”

Nearby employees had not noticed any suspicious people in the area, most not even aware the coffin was in close proximity to them.

This fact seemed to disturb the employees greatly.

Although devoid of a body, the destroyed coffin was lined with plastic material, which swaddled a small blanket and a pear core.

It is uncertain if any foul play may have occurred.

The coffin does not bear any manufacturers’ markings, and a local funeral services employee said no coffins were permitted to be discarded in such a manner.

“If there is a fault with the coffin, it has to be sent directly to the manufacturer for disposal.”

An SAPS official who arrived at the scene on Tuesday afternoon, declined to comment beyond his assurances forensic investigators had been dispatched.