One-day old baby found abandoned
NEWLANDS- A new born baby was found abandoned in a black refuse bag with umbilical code still attached.
Passersby found a new born baby – with the umbilical code still attached – in an open veld on 8th street in Newlands in the early hours of 24 August.
The baby had been crying and the passersby found him in a black refuse bag.
With great panic and urgency, the witnesses immediately called the ambulance and the Sophiatown Police and the baby boy was taken to Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, according to the Gauteng Health head of Communications Prince Hamnca.
Upon arrival, the baby was immediately examined by a doctor and found to be healthy.
The baby was then taken to a place of safety on the same day. The case is now handled by Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit at Sophiatown Police Station.
The baby’s parents are still unknown as are the reasons for abandonment.
“We can’t charge anyone because at this point we do not have any information about the baby and anyone who has any information should please contact Sophiatown Police Station,” said Sophiatown Police Station spokesperson Warrant Officer TJ de Bruyn.
The baby has been subsequently named Leon Tanny by Commander Dube of Sophiatown Police Station who was in charge of the case on 24 August.
This news came as a shock for Sophiatown Community Patrol.
“We had an operation on Saturday but there was nothing in that area. Possibly meaning the bay was left early on Sunday,” said Dauw Steyn of Sophiatown Community Patrol.
Northcliff resident George Potgieter says he wants to help the police find Leon Tanny’s parents.
“I am offering a R20 000 reward to find the mother and father of this boy because action has to be taken against them by the law. It should not be difficult to find them. Surely they stay in the Northcliff Mellvile Times reading area and if other readers read about the reward they could lead the police to parents,”he said.
“The most important is the child. And it hurts me to know there are people that would do such a horrible thing to a small child,” Potgieter concluded.
A couple in the area is interested in adopting baby Leon.
“We have a four-year-old of our own and when we look at our own child, we think if we were not there we would want someone to help so the child can grow up in a better world,” said the couple that wishes to remain anonymous.
If you have any information, contact the investigating officer, Constable Nkomonde on 011 670 6345.
Stories like this haunt me. People need to know there are alternatives to dumping their unwanted babies! There are places like the Door of Hope Children’s Mission (Berea Baptist Church, 48 Hillbrow Street, Berea) and the Lighthouse Baby Shelter (48 Drysdale Road, Sundowner) where you can anonymously ‘deposit’ your baby in a safe ‘baby bin’ / ‘Moses basket’ (hole in the wall), and they will take over the care of your child, no questions asked. Both have websites and Facebook pages. According to the stats, more than two million babies are abandoned in South Africa every year, with at least three babies being abandoned every day in greater Johannesburg alone. If you do a Wikipedia search for ‘baby hatch’ you will see that this practice has existed in one form or another since medieval times, and is still common in just about every country, both developed and developing, around the world today.