By Surihe Gaomas WINDHOEK In the Omusati Region, an eight-year-old girl went through a painful ordeal when her mother allegedly burnt her lips with fire, causing serious injuries. This incident of cruelty and ill-treatment to the child happened on Monday night at Okathitukakashokolo village in Ongandjera. According to the police report, the mother burnt the child because she had found her purportedly burning old rucksacks. The child has been admitted to the Okahao District Hospital and is said to be in a stable condition. When New Era asked why the mother had not yet been arrested, Police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Hieronymus Goraseb, said the case must first be presented to the Public Prosecutor who can then decide whether or not to prosecute. The general perception is that children caught playing with fire should be punished by making them feel the burn itself in order to prevent them from doing the same thing again. Police investigation into the matter is still underway. In another incident in the Khomas Region on Monday, a case of theft was reported where suspects broke into the Woermann Brock Supermarket in Wanaheda in the early hours of the morning and got away with N$68 000 in cash. “The unknown suspect(s) cut the roof of the supermarket with an unknown object and broke the safe,” the report reads. The money has not been recovered and police investigation continues. Meanwhile, the year 2007 has started off on a rather sad note with escalating gruesome crimes and road accidents over the holiday season. “A new-born baby is found dead in a rubbish bag; a mentally disturbed woman is raped in broad daylight; a man rapes another man; and over 70 people perish in tragic road accidents,” … reads various police crime bulletins. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as more incidents of crime countrywide over the festive season have not been noted. The New Year started off tragically when, on the second day of this month, a “new-born baby girl was found wrapped in a black plastic bag” – a bag usually meant for rubbish disposal. The dead baby was found at about midday “hidden in a garage” at Erf 6074 Lazarus Street in Katutura. The following day, past midnight, the life of another young girl aged 15 years was brutally turned around for the worse when three men allegedly gang-raped her in the bushes near Chotto Settlement in Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Region. Just a day before Christmas, a seven-year-old girl was raped by a man at Ovikange village in the Omusati Region. There were many other young girls who fell prey to this sort of crime throughout the country. To make matters worse, a helpless, mentally disturbed woman was forced to succumb to the very same crime at about 10h00 on December 24 at Saamstaan in Grootfontein. It is reported that a 43-year-old Namibian male had allegedly raped this 22-year-old woman. He has been arrested and police investigations are continuing. In an unusual twist of events, a 25-year-old Namibian male was allegedly raped by another male aged 36 on December 28. The incident took place at the Protea Hotel in Walvis Bay. The suspect is currently behind bars in that town. Last month in the Oshana Region at Okavungu village, “29-year-old Aktofel Kaali was assaulted with a stick and stabbed with a broken bottle all over the body during a fight,” reads the report. He succumbed to his serious injuries at the Onandjokwe Hospital. A similar incident of attempted murder occurred at the village of Tses, in the southern part of the country, while on the first day of the New Year 54-year-old Petrus Markus sustained serious injuries after being stabbed in the head with a broken bottle. “He was admitted to the Keetmanshoop State Hospital, and a Namibian male of 31 years was arrested in connection with the assault,” the crime bulletin reads. Suicides by hanging also took their toll as more and more young lives were abruptly ended, particularly in the North. Despite the ongoing road safety campaigns, accidents have so far claimed over 70 lives. Early last month, 17 people died along the Grootfontein and Rundu road. Nine men, five women and three children were killed instantly. This was followed by yet another accident on December 31 between Windhoek and Okahandja which claimed the lives of five people on the spot, with two others dying in hospital the next day and a surviving child who subsequently passed away last Friday. It is reported that three of the vehicles involved in these two accidents were overloaded by at least more than five people.