LEVUBU – A 24-year-old farm worker at the Heinie & Kobus Farm along the Levubu road handed himself over to the Louis Trichardt SAPS, after allegedly killing his 24-year-old wife and a four-months-old baby boy at the farm last week Saturday.

According to the Liaison Officer of the Louis Trichardt SAPS, Insp Daniel Ndlovu, the couple started a heated argument with the husband (the suspect) accusing his wife of fooling around with another man. He added that the main problem was the baby whom the suspect claims is not his.

"We heard that the suspect produced a panga and chopped both the baby and his mother to death, and then locked them in the thatched shack and set it alight," said Insp Ndlovu. It is said that the suspect then gave himself up at the Louis Trichardt SAPS.

The Police went to the scene with him and found the bodies of both the mother and the child. These bodies were badly scorched by the blaze. The suspect will appear in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's Court soon.

When asked to comment on this gruesome act and its impact in the community, Ndlovu said that "our courts accept that the main purposes of punishment are to prevent further acts of crime by the accused and others; to reform the accused; to ensure that the accused pays for his/her criminal actions and to prevent society from taking the law into its own hands." He added that the public must allow the law to take its course in this case.