By
Police
have arrested the father of an 11-month-old baby whom he allegedly kidnapped,
choked and beat before dumping the child inside a sewage pipe along the R300
highway.
Miraculously,
the baby survived the attempted murder and was found by a passer-by on Tuesday.
The
baby was taken to Red Cross Children’s Hospital, where he is in a critical
condition.
It
is believed the child’s mother attempted to open a case with police on Monday
after the father allegedly took him.
Candice Sobotker, of
the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit in Delft, assisted the family and says
the law must change regarding domestic abuse cases.
She
says the father snatched the baby from his mother on Monday and ran off.
“His
father ran away while the mother gave chase. At around 3pm members of the WCMPU
and the community assisted in searching, but to no avail,” explains Sobokter.
“The
suspect was spotted by the community, but he did not have the baby with him. On
Tuesday, a member of the community came to the mother and said her baby is in
hospital.”
Sobotker
says the infant is in a critical condition.
“A
community member found him lying in a sewage pipe along the R300 and was
unconscious and severely beaten.
“He
is now critical in hospital. This is sad. The law has changed so much in the
favour of criminals, where do we go from here?”
On
Wednesday, the child’s grandmother, who asked not to be identified, as she runs
a crèche in the Delft community, confirmed he was in hospital.
She
told the Daily Voice she could not comment at this stage and would be working
with police and social services to help find her grandchild’s attacker.
She
said the little boy’s mother has not left his side in hospital.
Police
spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, says the suspect was arrested on
Wednesday.
“An
attempted murder case has been opened for investigation. According to
information, on 15 January, the suspect, a 33- year-old man, assaulted an
11-month-old baby,” Rwexana says.
“The
suspect was arrested and once charged he will appear in Bellville Magistrate's
Court.”
Daily Voice
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