Cop saves dehydrated baby from car

2011-12-15 14:42

Johannesburg - A 4-month-old dehydrated baby was rescued after the father and an aunt left the child in the car outside a shop in Maitland, a City of Cape Town official said on Thursday.

A member of the public alerted traffic officer Charlene Saaiman that a child had been left in a car outside the Maitland Shoprite complex on December 5, Chief Inspector Merle Lourens said in a statement.

"The infant was soaked with sweat, visibly dehydrated and crying... A car guard told Saaiman the child's father asked her to keep an eye on the child and alert him if there were any problems."

After numerous attempts to contact the father, Saaiman decided to force entry through the car's slightly open front passenger window.

"The force of pushing it down shattered the window," said Lourens.

Paramedics treated the child on the scene before the child was taken to hospital for further treatment.

"A charge of child neglect was laid against the father."

On Tuesday, a 34-year-old Vereeniging woman who allegedly left her two children inside a locked car at a shopping centre was released on R2 000 bail.

Shelly Khumalo was arrested last Thursday at the River Square Mall in Three Rivers, Vereeniging, and charged with child neglect, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

Khumalo arrived at the shopping centre with four children at 14:00, leaving a 6-month-old baby and 2-year-old in the car.

- SAPA