A Durban mother who strangled her newborn daughter and forced a facecloth down her throat has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, the Sunday Tribune reported.

Krishnandi Govindsamy, 30, was found guilty this week by Magistrate Fariedha Mohamed in the Durban Magistrate's Court.

Govindsamy, a cashier at a butchery, strangled her baby daughter with a T-shirt on the night she gave birth to her in the bathroom of her Mayville home.

She put the body in a plastic bag, put the bag in the bedroom cupboard, and went to sleep.

According to the plea documents Govindsamy said the baby, which she had named Tamia van Wyk, died shortly after being born on June 24, 2010.

In mitigation of sentence, defence attorney Anesh Maharaj submitted his client, a mother of three, was a first offender.

He said the court should consider Govindsamy had no emotional support during her pregnancy because her husband, Nathan van Wyk, was involved in drugs.

Mohamed said Govindsamy's actions were premeditated because she could have made prior arrangements to have someone care for the baby.

"You used a cloth and a T-shirt to strangle the baby, which means that you thought about what you were doing," Mohamed said.