Hawks arrest four people for 'illegally' adopting children for Sassa grant

Four women were arrested for allegedly being involved in illegally adopting two children in Botshabelo, Free State, so they could register them for the child support grant.

The Hawks said the women were allegedly working with a health department official.

A spokesperson for the Free State Hawks, Fikiswa Matoti, said the four were arrested on 17 March after a Botshabelo Home Affairs official became suspicious and notified the police.

The accused - aged, 51, 35, 59 and 29 - appeared in the Botshabelo Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of illegal adoption and fraud.

"It is alleged that two females, a Lesotho national and a South African, went to Botshabelo Home Affairs for late registration applications for two children, aged five and 15," said Matoti.

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Matoti said the recruited woman would identify children and then negotiate with the parents to give consent, in exchange for a monetary reward.

"She (the woman recruited) would take the children to a Home Affairs official, who would register them. The children would later be registered for Sassa grants, and they would share the money," said Matoti.

Matoti said the children in question are South Africans, and the identity of the parents was being investigated.

The four women will appear in court on Friday for a formal bail application.