This comes after numerous complaints from residents about these women. “It is child abuse,” Muthan said.
He urged motorists to refrain from giving money to women who use children to beg for money at intersections. “All you are doing is supporting child abuse,” he said.
“Many of these women are con artists, they move around from one intersection to the next, sometimes with a different child.”
According to Muthan, there was a syndicate in Johannesburg that was hiring out children for the sole purpose of begging. “Giving these women money keeps them coming back, and worse, keeps the syndicate going.”
Fourways resident, Rentia Nel, said she usually saw a mother and child begging on the corner of Uranium and Cedar roads. “She [the woman] sits in the middle of the road with the child and sometimes you cannot even see them. My heart bleeds for them but they are exposing themselves and others to danger,” she said.
Nel urged the police to clear the streets of these young children. “I don’t care if the mother decides to continue, but somebody needs to protect these children.”
Muthan confirmed that women who used children to beg for money would be arrested and investigated.
– via Fourways Review
What do you think of women who use children to beg on the side of the road? Tweet @Fourways_Review
