While a 21-year-old woman allegedly spent the night at her boyfriend’s home in the Marathon informal settlement, two of her children died in a shack fire.
“The children were burnt beyond recognition,” said Sgt Styles Maome, communications officer for the Primrose police.
It is alleged that the woman locked the children in the shack.
This meant that when the shack caught fire, on August 15, the children were unable to escape and died.
Police found the woman at her boyfriend’s shack, where she was arrested and charged with child neglect.
The suspect appeared in the Germiston Magistrates Court, where her case was postponed for plea and trial.
“We appeal to the community to stop locking their children in their shacks and/or houses when they go out to enjoy themselves,” said Maome.
”In two months we have dealt with three deaths as a result of children being locked in shacks and/or houses.”
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