Westbury Clinic saga: Brother of pregnant woman claims a bribe was paid to bury her
The payment was allegedly made to an official of the Department of Health to finalise paperwork in time for her to be buried on the same day.
The community of Westbury gathered outside the Westbury Primary Healthcare Clinic on 31 December 2024 in protest of the death of Miriam Singh, who had gone to the clinic on Sunday to give birth. Picture: Jabulile Mbatha/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The brother of the pregnant woman who died at the Westbury Clinic says he had to pay a bribe to ensure his sister could be buried on the same day.
Mariam Singh died at the Westbury Clinic on Sunday.
The payment was allegedly made to an official of the Department of Health to finalise paperwork in time for the burial.
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This was revealed during a meeting between the Department of Health and the Singh family, where they were explained the results of the deceased’s postmortem.
Enver Solomons said when he lost his son in 2019, the Department of Health allegedly delayed giving him the documents required for the same-day burial.
He was subjected to burying his son the following day, which is against the Islamic religion.
Solomons said to avoid facing the same situation, he paid to speed up the process to ensure his sister was buried according to Muslim rites.
“I had to go to an extent whereby I had to pay a bribe just to get this thing done so that I can get my sister out of there, just to go and lay her to rest.
"If I didn’t pay that bribe, who says that we wouldn’t have waited until the next day or the next 48 hours until it’s been done?”
He said he doesn’t think his sister would have had a burial yet if he had not paid the official.