Newborn dad’s desperate dash for baby formula ends in curfew arrest.
Despite showing proof of the purchase of the formula milk, the man was arrested.
A father from Centurion rushed to the hospital to buy formula milk for his new born baby and he was arrested for travelling past curfew hours.
His lawyer, Lily Rautenbach, reported to TimesLIVE on Tuesday that the man went to the pharmacy at Netcare Unitas Hospital to buy formula milk on Friday at around 1am.
The baby was born on the 6th of January and both mom and baby were discharged from hospital on January 7, Rautenbach said.
“After the baby and mother were discharged from hospital, she was struggling to breastfeed the baby. The baby didn’t get enough nutrition and therefore the father had to rush to hospital to buy formula.”
Rautenbach said on his way home, the father was stopped by police officers about 500m from his residence. He showed proof of the purchase of the formula milk but they arrested him for failure to follow curfew time.
According to Rautenbach, the mother had to risk leaving her two other children, who are in primary school, at home and walked with a newborn baby to fetch the milk and car keys at the scene.
The father is expected to appear in court soon as he was released that same day after a warning.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said the police viewed the incident in a “very serious” light.
Peters said provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela asked for an urgent internal investigation into the issue.
