Neglect: MORE THAN A HUNGRY, DIRTY CHILD.

Just before 06:00 on the morning of 21 February 2017, a mother from the notorious Jubilee house in Somerset West arrived at the local police station with her dying 19-month-old baby. The police immediately alerted the emergency services, but the infant, who was only wearing a nappy and was wrapped in a blanket, was declared dead by paramedics. The infant had, what appeared to be a friable and oozing wound, due to a mastoid abscess behind the ear. Her health was not taken care of despite a history of ear infections and loose stools. This baby had to sleep on a mattress on the floor, was breastfed and received wheat cereal as meals. She suffered from nappy rash and an ear laceration due to mastoiditis. An inquest docket was opened until the autopsy was conducted in March 2017 which stated that the cause of death was disseminated granulomatous inflammation, most likely consistent with tuberculosis. The report further stated that possible neglect could not be excluded and therefore the death was classified as unnatural. The mother was arrested, trialed and found guilty of unlawfully and negligently causing the death of the infant by failing to look after the child and/or neglecting to receive the necessary medical treatment that she might have needed. The mother did not take care of the child's medical and dietary wellbeing as the infant weighed only 4 kg at the time of her death. The Somerset West Regional Court sentenced the 31-year-old mother of four to ten years' direct incarceration on 26 July 2022 (Gordon, 2022). This case confirms that neglect is about much more than a hungry or dirty child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]