Johannesburg - Dumped among the garbage, set alight, then mauled by dogs.
This was the experience of a newborn who was left to die in Eldorado Park, south of Joburg, onTuesday. This had happened within the first few hours of the baby’s life.
Inside the plastic bag that carried the lifeless body was the placenta, blood-soiled underwear and a newspaper. But perhaps due to rain, the plastic bag would not burn completely, exposing the remains to a passer-by.
After the police collected the body, a tiny hand lay among the garbage, torn off at the wrist.
On Tuesday morning, Jennifer Morris, from Eldorado Park Extension 4, said she was called by a waste material collector at the dump site opposite her flat, saying he’d seen something that looked like a baby.
“The whole body was outside the plastic, as if it had been dragged by a dog. The plastic was burnt, but both the baby and the umbilical cord were still there,” said Morris.
“I’m angry and mad. They must find the mother. If you don’t want a baby, you should take it to a place of safety.”
The Star