Taiwanese mother who gave morphine to children receives suspended sentence

A mother in Taiwan's Changhua County, who suffers from cancer, administered morphine, a potent painkiller and a first-class narcotic, to her two young children. The incident came to light after a hospital alerted social workers, who conducted urine tests on the children, revealing positive results for morphine.

The children were placed under emergency care. The mother faced charges for inducing a minor to use a first-class narcotic and intentional harm to a child. She was initially sentenced to a combined two years in prison for these offenses.

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The mother, who is suffering from illness and is in poor physical and mental condition, used it to induce the children to use morphine.

However, the court granted her a four-year suspended sentence. This decision was influenced by the mother's ongoing health struggles and the expressed wishes of her children, who did not want their mother to be incarcerated. The judge cited the mother's condition and the children's desire as reasons for leniency, noting that a minimum sentence might be disproportionate.

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The defendant, as a mother, should have fulfilled her responsibility of protection and education, but she induced her young children to use drugs and harmed them with a utility knife. Her actions severely harmed the children's physical and mental health and destroyed the trust relationship between family members.

In its ruling, the court emphasized the mother's duty to protect and nurture her children, highlighting that her actions severely harmed their physical and mental well-being and damaged family trust. Despite this, the court considered her lack of prior offenses, her admission of guilt, the current placement of the children, and their wishes. The judge expressed confidence that the legal proceedings would serve as a deterrent, making reoffending unlikely.

The suspended sentence includes a period of protective supervision, a prohibition against domestic violence towards her children, and a requirement to complete 120 hours of community service and attend two legal education sessions.

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Considering that the defendant has no prior offenses, confessed to the crime after committing it, the children have already been placed, and they all expressed through social workers that they do not wish their mother to be imprisoned, it is believed that the defendant will be vigilant after this trial and review process and there is no risk of reoffending.