Cape Town - A baby has been found dumped in the drains of Diep Crescent in Leiden, Delft.
The grim discovery was made yesterday by the Women For Change group, who were doing work outside the drain.
Zubeida Burton, a member of Women For Change, said they had received an email concerning this, and when they arrived, police were already on the scene. The umbilical cord could still be seen hanging from the baby.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said Delft CID are investigating a case of concealment of birth.
“On Wednesday, at about 12h15, the members of Delft SAPS received a complaint for police assistance on the corner of Diep Crescent and Gabon Street Leiden Delft where they found a foetus in the drain,” he said.
The public relations officer for Delft Community Policing Forum, Charles George, said: “This is not the type of news we want to hear, but there are many factors at play, like it being post-Covid-19. People are desperate and not thinking straight. There is no real support for these women.”
In March, it was reported that about 100 babies had been abandoned in the last nine months, according to the Western Cape Department of Social Development.
It was then that Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez reminded the public that child abandonment is a crime.
Her warning came after the increase of reports of babies being dumped. Between April 2019 and March 2020, about 46 were reported to have been dumped, 24 between April 2020 and March 2021, and 26 last year between April and December.
Founder of the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit, Candice van Van der Rheede, stressed the fact that family planning is completely free of charge at the local clinics.
“Condoms are available at most public facilities. To discard a human life like this is totally inhuman. Be responsible and do the right thing,” she said.
Weekend Argus