Springs police spokesperson Capt Johannes Ramphora says a 30-year-old woman was given a five-year suspended sentence by the Springs Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday for kidnapping.
The woman was accused of kidnapping a five-day-old infant in December last year after leaving the hospital at the same time as the child’s mother.
According to the police, the 30-year-old approached the infant’s mother, who does hair for a living, and asked if she could braid her hair.
When they arrived at Skoonplaas where the mother of the infant does hair, she briefly stepped out to get water, leaving her baby and documents on the bed.
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When she returned from fetching water she found the suspect and the baby gone.
The mother of the infant ran outside and screamed for help.
The community informed the mother that they had seen the woman getting into a car with the baby and drove towards Dersely.
Fortunately for the mother, a police van was patrolling nearby and the community informed them what had happened.
The police gave chase and caught up with the car. The suspect got out of the car, dropped the baby by the side of the road and ran away on foot.
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She was caught and taken into custody on the charge of kidnapping.
When questioned by police, the driver of the car said he had been stopped by the woman who asked for a lift to the hospital as the baby wasn’t feeling well.
Further investigations by police revealed the woman was faking her pregnancy.
The woman pleaded guilty to the charges against her, and alongside her suspended sentence, was also found unfit to possess a firearm.
The baby was unharmed during the ordeal.
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