Stolen baby still not found, no arrest

A criminal act which, according to Police is a sporadic occurrence in the province, left a young mother in despair after her six-month-old baby was allegedly stolen at a shopping centre in Mokopane last Thursday.
To worsen the matter a high level task team, established by the Police in an effort to trace the suspect and the baby, has delivered no success yet.
The team, established by acting Provincial Police Commissioner Jan Scheepers was launched soon after the incident and Provincial Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe has confirmed that the search led by Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner responsible for crime detection Samuel Manala has continued around the clock since.
Ngoepe indicated that a 24-year-old woman who had her baby with her apparently came across an unknown woman at a shopping centre on Thursday. The woman walked with her while she was shopping. The mother reportedly bought food and invited the stranger to join her but she turned down the offer and opted to hold the baby instead.
Ngoepe stated that the mother, once done eating, walked to another shopping centre. The stranger accompanied her and was still carrying the baby. She then, without the mother noticing, allegedly disappeared with the infant.
Provincial Police Communications Head Motlafela Mojapelo in response to enquiry as to the reasons for babies being stolen and the frequency of such incidents stated: “People often steal babies because they do not have one. If they do, you might find that they steal a baby boy because they only have baby girls. We can only advise mothers not to trust strangers at all, even if they offer some kind of assistance.”
Mojapelo only indicated that baby theft is a sporadic occurrence in Limpopo. Anyone with information on the matter s requested to contact investigating officer Richard Boshomane on 079 894 5501 or report to the nearest Police station.

Story: RC Myburgh
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