'Gumtree mother' explains
A 20-year-old mother tried to sell her baby online to refund the child support that her former lover had been paying before he discovered the child was not his. The Pietermaritzburg woman yesterday pleaded guilty to contravening the Human Trafficking Act when she advertised the sale of her 19-month-old son via online classifieds website, Gumtree, and then sold him for R5,000 in a trap set up by police.The mother claimed that her ex-boyfriend had demanded a refund of R24,000 that he had paid towards supporting the child.She said her ex-boyfriend demanded a paternity test during an argument.Two weeks after the test, he sent her a text message with results that proved he was not the child's father.In September, the mother placed the advert on Gumtree."Two days after placing the advertisement I received a telephone call from an Indian female. She told me that she was interested in the child."She was granted R2,500 bail. Her next court appearance, for sentencing, is in February ...
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