The baby sustained extensive injuries, which general practitioner and expert doctor at Teddy Bear Clinic, Efrat Barnes, described as non-accidental injuries.
“The injuries show that quite a significant amount of force was used, and it is clear the aim was to harm the child,” said Barnes.
“It cannot be that the child fell, or anything similar to that.”
She said the injuries are so severe that they could lead to the little boy being mentally impaired.
The infant sustained head injuries, which resulted in bleeding and bruising on the brain, three broken ribs and a fractured knee.
Barnes said the head injury is the most serious.
“It’s so severe it could lead to mental retardation and blindness, as there was bleeding in the retina,” she added.
Barnes said the rib injuries may have also affected internal organs, such as the lungs, which may have ruptured, and added that the knee fracture could lead to disability.
The shocking injuries were discovered when the boy’s parents took him to the Linmed Netcare Hospital for bronchiolitis treatment, on May 7.
Tania Autto, from Men and Woman Against Child Abuse (WMACA), said they were alerted to the incident by an investigating officer handling the case.
“When the doctors x-rayed the child’s chest they picked up three healing rib fractures and bleeding on the brain and in the retina,” she said.
Autto added that the bleeding in the retina is an indicator of a shaken baby syndrome.
She could not be sure when the injuries were inflicted, and said it would take forensic examination to establish this.
Autto said the baby was probably thrown to the ground.
The matter was reported to the police, who arrested the couple on May 18.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieut-Col Lungelo Dlamini said that the couple, a 26-year-old man and his 25-year-old wife, appeared in the Benoni Magistrates Court on May 19, and were each granted R3 000 bail.
The case was postponed to June 11.
The child is at a place of safety and will be rehabilitated there.
OmG! This is horrific!
Why do people become parents if they don’t have patients with babies n I’m in shock after reading this articles
DEATH PENALTY or a baseball bat. Lets not mess around with court cases
Why the hell are they on bail. I wish the public could get hold of these 2 animals….I want to be the first.
What I cannot understand is that any body can have children or buy pets.. But try open an account you have to go through the mill…. Something seriously wrong here… Bring back the death penalty … And why are they out on bail?
This is so sad. Any baby and child deserves to be treated with love and care. This couple does not deserve any mercy.
Taking a baby to a hospital when they clearly knew what they had done shows you how stupid, to say the least they are or did they think the dr’s would’nt examine the baby and would just give medication or something???? Well done I hereby declares you two the 2014 stupid, pathetic, uncaring parents award
Absolutely shocking. How can parents do this to an innocent child? They should be locked up, not allowed out on R3000 bail each