A Facebook friendship led to a baby exchange at birth, but two years later, the mother reclaimed her child, sparking a criminal investigation.
Authorities have arrested a 46-year-old woman in Free State on charges of perjury and obstructing justice after she falsely reported a kidnapping case in Thabong.
The case unfolded after a Facebook friendship led to an arrangement. Someone handed over a newborn baby to another woman at birth. However, the child’s biological mother, now 24, reclaimed her son two years later, triggering a dramatic turn of events.
Captain Loraine Earle, spokesperson for the provincial police, said the woman who had been raising the child falsely reported a kidnapping case. This was after her relationship with the biological mother soured.
“On March 9, 2025, a woman from Bultfontein reported to Thabong police that someone had kidnapped her two-year-old son in Thabong,” Earle said.
Police launched an investigation the following day. Senior officers , Thabong detectives, Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses (FCS) unit members, the K9 Unit, and Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) officials to the alleged crime scene. Investigators found no evidence of a kidnapping, Earle stated.
Further investigation revealed that the biological mother had picked up the child from the Bultfontein woman at around 9:30 a.m. on March 9. Puthaditjhaba Social Services subsequently took the child into their care, Earle confirmed.
Thabong FCS officers arrested the Bultfontein woman on charges of defeating the ends of justice and perjury. Investigators also determined that the biological mother gave birth in Bloemfontein two years ago. She fraudulently registered the child using the Bultfontein woman’s identity document.
“As a result of new information, both the biological mother and the Bultfontein woman will face additional charges of fraud and human trafficking,” Earle said. Authorities have confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.
