'Parents' queuing for Happy
2003-05-21 16:23
Johannesburg - Calls are streaming in from hopeful parents who believe Happy Sindane might be their child who disappeared 12 years ago, said Inspector Percy Morokoane.
Happy, who was dropped off at Bronkhorstspruit police station on Saturday, claims he was kidnapped by a domestic worker when he was six and was brought up in the KwaMahlanga area north of Pretoria.
"I can't say exactly how many calls received," Morokoane said. Many of these could of course be hoax calls."
Sarie Botha, 45, and her husband from Danville in Pretoria was the first to make themselves available for blood tests after calling police to claim parenthood.
Botha said she recognised the boy from the photograph in Beeld. She said her son Jannie disappeared in 1992 when he was seven.
DNA tests from blood samples from possible parents and Happy could take up to 10 weeks to complete, but police have promised to try and speed up the process.
Other parents who believed Happy could be their son, should give the case numbers and dates on which they reported their children missing.
Meanwhile, the police's Missing Persons' Bureau was still searching through its records to see if more information could be found.
Happy's present whereabouts is kept secret.
"According to a court order barring any information relating directly to the boy, I'm unable to give information about him," Morokoane said.
The boy would appear in court again on Monday. The court order would then be re-evaluated and a decision taken on whether the gag on the media should become permanent.
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- News24