KwaZulu-Natal woman faces perjury charges for faking baby kidnapping
A woman has been charged with perjury after claiming her three-month-old baby was kidnapped.
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A 26-year-old woman from Melmoth has been charged with perjury after claiming that three men kidnapped her three-month-old baby, when, in fact, the child never existed.
Police confirmed that the woman appeared in the Melmoth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following the alleged incident in KwaMagwaza on September 13.
“Police unleashed a search team comprising different role players to search for the child, and after several hours of the extensive search, it came to light that the woman had lied about the kidnapping and that she had never given birth to a baby,” KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said.
Investigations revealed that the woman had deceived her boyfriend and his family into believing she was pregnant and had given birth, while telling her own family that she had suffered a miscarriage.
The woman was arrested and charged after her claims were proven false.
This is the second perjury case reported in KwaZulu-Natal this month. Police said a 21-year-old woman appeared in the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after she admitted to lying under oath about being raped by her uncle, who is in custody on another rape charge.
“The uncle in question is already in custody after he was arrested for raping his 15-year-old niece at Blaaubosch in Madadeni,” Netshiunda stated.
Authorities condemned false reporting, stressing that it wastes critical time and resources while undermining support for real victims.
“Reporting a false case is a criminal offence and police will ensure that those who waste police’s limited resources by opening false cases are met with the wrath of the law,” police said.
They added that “the time that police spend opening imaginary cases and investigating non-existent criminal cases could be spent preventing, combating and investigating genuine cases opened by real victims of crime.”
KwaZulu-Natal police have appealed to the public to act responsibly when reporting incidents, especially those concerning violence against women and children.