BIANKA HARTMANN, 29, sentenced to 3 years and has served half of her sentence

“I found out I was pregnant while in custody — I’d been on trial for three months. At the time, I was five weeks pregnant, but had no idea. Learning that I was expecting just made things worse. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to being a mom at that point in my life. It felt that the pregnancy was adding to my already long list of problems. I was arrested in East London, far away from my family. I spent eight months there before being transferred to the Johannesburg centre when my baby was three weeks old. Prison is hard. I have two kids who live with my mom — the eldest knows I’m in prison, but my five-year-old thinks I’m in hospital. I have vowed to tell them the truth when they’re older. I’m grateful for the time I’ve spent with my son in here. Had he been taken away at birth, it would have broken me. But of all my kids, I have the strongest bond with him. Taking care of him makes my days here easier and bearable because they can get quite long. I initially had fears about bringing up a baby in prison, but had no idea that there was a special section for mothers and babies. I’m fortunate in that, my sentence is structured in such a way that I get to leave with him when I’ve served my time. I hope to be a better example to all my children — they need to know that there’s no winning where crime is concerned. Playing on the wrong side of the law, and being pompous enough to think that you’ll never get caught is dangerous. The biggest punishment for me has been being away from my family and kids. I will never consider doing anything fraudulent ever again — that’s what I was arrested for. In fact, I’ll never commit any crime ever again. I’ve missed enough by being away. I wish I could make up for the time, but I know I can’t. Getting out of here will be a second chance for me to be a more present mother to my other two children.”