A woman and her boyfriend were arrested for allegedly killing their new-born twin babies near Welkom, Free State police said on Monday.
The police retrieved the decomposed body of a baby from a pit toilet at the home of a 28-year-old woman in Thandanani village on Sunday, Sergeant Tlalanyane Pakela said.
The other body was not found.
The woman aborted her seven-month-old pregnancy on August 16 by swallowing tablets she got from a Nigerian doctor. A local state clinic had refused to abort her pregnancy as it was at an advanced stage.
“The first baby was born alive and the woman apparently threw the infant into a pit toilet,” Pakela said.
“We suspect she drowned the second baby when she gave birth while taking a bath several hours later.”
The boyfriend apparently helped her throw the body into the same pit toilet. A friend of the woman saw the second birth and drowning.
The couple was expected to face a murder charge in the Welkom Magistrate's Court soon. - Sapa