A mother whose children died in a blaze while she was out drinking has been jailed for five years by the Viljoenskroon Magistrate’s Court, police said on Friday.
Spokesperson Inspector Stephen Thakeng said the 30-year-old woman had left her three children inside a locked shack with a candle burning while she was out drinking with her boyfriend in April last year.
Early the next morning, the shack caught fire. Her nine-year-old son and three-year-old twins died in the blaze.
After a search, the mother was found with her boyfriend and informed that her children had died. She was arrested and charged with child neglect.
”This is a clear-cut message to parents out there that children remain our precious gifts and we are committed in reducing crimes against children,” said Thakeng. — Sapa