Video shows how baby was dumped

The Middelburg Obsserver are in possession of material showing how a baby was dumped next to a bin in John Magagula Street last week Wednesday.

Jana Boshoff

September 1, 2016

Video footage shows how the baby was dumped next to a dumpster in John Magagula Street.

A nearby business erected a security camera after a bout of break-ins. The concerned dumpster is visible via the camera and video material obtained from the business shows what may be crucial evidence about how the baby ended up there.

Shortly before 23:00, a man, sporting what looks like dreadlocks and carrying a backpack, can be seen approaching the dumpster. The man can be seen going through the dumpster and taking out several plastic bags.

After a while, he hunches over the bags next to the dumpster and takes off his backpack. It looks like he puts something in the bags before walking away.

Hours later, at 01:44, the man returns. This time without the backpack. He hunches over the plastic bags again and tears them open, so the baby inside is more visible. It is clear that he wanted the baby to be found. The absence of the backpack makes it probable that the baby was carried inside it before it was transferred to the plastic bags.

A couple of minutes before 07:00 on Thursday morning. a group of school children notice the baby lying next to the dumpster. They try to stop a passing police vehicle without success and then phone the police from a cellphone.

The baby was discovered with her amniotic sac (a fluid filled sac that protects the baby in the womb) still intact.

Local gynaecologist, Dr. Deon van der Merwe, said that it is rare but it does happen, sometimes the amniotic sac will still be intact after birth, especially if the mother was not assisted by a doctor during labour to break the sac.

He estimates that the baby is at least 36 weeks old (nine months). A postmortem report says that the baby was dead before she was born.

A common and cheap medicine, usually used for stomach cramps, is given to mothers to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Because it is often supplied by someone who is not a medical doctor, the dose can be too much, causing the baby to die before it is born.

The pills are very cheap, a couple of cents a pop, and are easily available. Bogus doctors usually sell them for hundreds of rand.

Minutes after the Middelburg Observer obtained the video material, it was wiped from the security system’s hard-drive because of an automated system that frees up space as new material is recorded. No one from the Middelburg police requested the video despite being made aware of the existence of possible evidence.