A 37-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a nine-day-old baby in Bellville, Western Cape.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the infant's mother reported the incident over the weekend, after her newborn disappeared from a local shopping complex.
According to police, the mother had briefly left her baby in the care of a woman she was accompanied by while she went to the bathroom. Upon her return, both the woman and her baby were gone.
“The mother immediately reported the matter to Bellville SAPS. A swift investigation led officers to a house in Tafelsig, where the suspect was found with the baby,” Van Wyk confirmed.
The child was safely recovered and reunited with her mother.
The suspect has been formally charged and is expected to appear in court soon.