Port Elizabeth – A 42-year-old woman was arrested for child abandonment after her 6-week-old baby girl was found in a canal in Missionvale, northern Port Elizabeth, on Sunday morning.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the child was found by members of the community around 11:30.
They initially thought the child was dead.
She said when Algoa Park detectives followed up on information regarding the mother of the baby, it was discovered she had been out drinking with friends the previous night.
“On her way home, while walking through the canal in Missionvale, she stumbled, fell and she dropped the baby and just got up and went home,” Van Rensburg said.
On Sunday morning, the woman apparently looked for the child, but was under the impression she had left the baby with friends.
“She went to other friends and continued drinking until the detectives arrested her,” Janse van Rensburg said.
The baby is currently at the Dora Nginza hospital and is in a serious condition.
The mother will appear at the New Brighton Law Court on Tuesday.
Derrick Spies, News24
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