Bail for woman in South African kidnap case

A South African woman who allegedly kidnapped a baby from a hospital and raised her for 17 years was released on bail yesterday in a sensational case in which authorities are struggling to protect the privacy of a girl who apparently had no idea of what had happened.

Magistrate Mark Engel said the accused woman is not a flight risk and has no previous convictions, but ordered her to stay away from the girl she raised. She was freed on $425 bail.

The woman cannot contact her husband either, with whom she raised the child, as he is now a witness in her trial, prosecution spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said.