POLOKWANE – “I was desperate and that is why we left the fetus behind.”
This is what Brighton Moy, the father of a fetus that was allegedly dumped, maintains, after the Westenburg police opened a case of concealment of birth against the mother.
The tragic story is one that has again highlighted what residents of Westenburg refer to as the ambulance centre’s reluctance to assist them.
Locals were however livid after finding out about a fetus that was allegedly dumped, on Mother’s Day.
They called police to the scene and demanded the mother be locked up.
According to Moy, he was a man desperate to get assistance for his wife after she started suffering from abdominal cramps at aound 23:00 on Saturday.
“I didn’t have the number for the ambulance, and after neighbours couldn’t help us, I walked to the Westenburg police station to ask for assistance. They gave me the number for the ambulance. I phoned for help, but minutes thereafter I received a call from the ambulance call centre that there was no ambulance available,” he said.
Police advised him to find someone to take his wife to hospital. “I walked back to fetch my wife and as we were walking to the house of the person who offered to give us a lift, my wife had a miscarriage. I had to make a decision, and that was to leave behind the fetus and make sure my wife get to hospital.”
Upon his return, he found the police and residents at the scene.
A man, who passed by the scene in the night, confirmed to having seen the couple.
“I was walking home, looking for a light for my cigarette. I saw a man standing and a woman on her knees with a blanket covering her head. I approached them, but the woman was in distress, so I decided to leave instead.”
According to locals in Westenburg, ambulances don’t respond to emergencies promptly, sometimes not at all. The second problem occurs at hospital.
“The other problem we face is that when you use your own transport to go to the hospital, the personnel are not very keen to help you, because you did not arrive in an ambulance,” one resident said. Locals seemed to have judged Moy and his wife, saying they should have taken the fetus with them.
Capt Mohlaka Mashiane, spokesperson from the Westenburg police, confirmed that a case of concealment of birth is being investigated after the incident. The police couldn’t confirm whether Moy was at the station on Saturday evening. Asked for comment regarding the availability of ambulances, health spokesperson Adéle van der Linde, said the department would first have to investigate the matter by listening to the call centre recordings to confirm whether or not the father called for an ambulance as he said or not.
“Once our investigation is concluded, the department will give comment as soon as possible,” Van der Linde said.
