A Mpumalanga mother is believed to have committed suicide by ingesting rat poison which also killed her two children in Kwa Guqa near Witbank, police said on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Brig Leonard Hlathi said the woman “ate chicken meat allegedly sprinkled with rat poison” which her children also consumed.
“Her two children, a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, were in the same house where it is further alleged that the woman left some pieces of the chicken and went into another room.
“The children also ate the same meat as well whereafter they (the children) were found by their elder brother who rushed them to the local clinic. Unfortunately they were certified dead,” he said.
Hlathi said police have registered an inquest as well as a culpable homicide docket for investigation, as the woman left a note indicating that her family should take care of her children.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Mondli Zuma expressed shock at the incident. He urged the community to seek help when confronted by challenges or any other social problems.
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