A 36 year old mother of three has been arrested for neglecting her children after she left them alone for a weekend to visit her boyfriend, police said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu said the woman from LJ squatter camp near Doringkloof left the children aged 1, 10 and 14 without food.
“We were notified by community members after they realised that the children were nowhere to be found and when we got there we found the shack empty. We then embarked on a search operation and the children were found late in the afternoon around 17:00.”
It appeared as if the children went without food as they looked hungry, and they might have been looking for food on the streets, Gumbu said. The children were taken to a place of safety in Soshanguve.
Community Police Forum chairperson Patrick Banxa said he became aware of the matter when a teacher asked him about the children. He investigated and found the children alone.
“That’s when we recognised that the children have been left alone for days and when we questioned them they told us the mother left to visit her boyfriend. We are relieved that the children have been taken to a place of safety and we hope a solution will be found as we cannot allow this kind of situation to repeat itself.”
The mother will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court soon.
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