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.
