Fate smiled down on a newborn baby who was lucky to be rescued by a passerby after he was dumped in a black bin packet inside the bushes on Stonebridge Drive, on Friday.
Phoenix SAPS communications officer, Captain Louise Naidoo, said: “Sergeant MP Mkhize interviewed the complainant, Sphamandla Machi, who alleged that he was walking on the road near 482 Stonebridge Drive, when he heard a baby crying in a nearby bush. He went to investigate and found a black bin packet in the grass. Inside the packet was a small, male African child, about one day old, wrapped in a pink blanket.”
Cpt Naidoo said the police was contacted and the child was taken via ambulance to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital for observation.
KZN VIP response and paramedics responded to the scene and spokesperson, Gareth Naidoo, said: “KZN VIP paramedics assessed the newborn baby and determined that the infant was approximately a few hours old. The baby was found to be in good health and was transported to hospital.”
Phoenix Community Police Forum (CPF) chairman, Umesh Singh, said: “It is fortunate that the little baby was rescued after being abandoned in such a cruel manner. Whatever the circumstances, mothers in such situations must understand that there are options if they cannot care for the baby. Leaving the baby in the bush unprotected is a callous act. This type of abandonment of helpless babies must stop. The community is always being informed about aid for distraught mothers. A baby’s life cannot be treated in such an insignificant manner.”
A case of Child Abandonment is under investigation.
