By YUSUKE MORISHITA/ Staff Writer
October 5, 2021 at 18:30 JST
The building housing the Osaka District Court and Osaka High Court (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
OSAKA--A mother who forced her newborn to vomit by feeding him her own blood was handed a suspended eight-month prison sentence for “dangerous assault.”
The 24-year-old woman pleaded not guilty, but the court concluded there was no one but her who could have done it.
She explained that she was intent only on ensuring her son received advanced medical treatment when he was sick by making his condition appear more serious.
The Osaka District Court on Oct. 4 took this into account in awarding a more lenient sentence than the eight months in prison sought by prosecutors.
Noting that infants have poor immunity to infections, the court ruled that her actions were “short-sighted” as they took no account of the possibility they put the child's life at risk.
The mother fed her son her own blood and made him vomit on two occasions in February and March last year, when he was being treated at a hospital in Osaka, according to the ruling.
The boy, who was born in January, was admitted to the ICU for fever, according to police.
TENNIS/ Serena stopped: Osaka beats Williams in Australian Open SF
February 18, 2021
TENNIS/ Osaka fined $15,000 after win, warned of French Open expulsion
May 31, 2021
Couple filled with guilt for reducing multifetal pregnancy
May 29, 2021
TENNIS/ Osaka makes winning return to Grand Slam tennis at U.S. Open
August 31, 2021
TENNIS/ Osaka weighs another break from tennis after U.S. Open loss
September 4, 2021
'A bit much': Naomi Osaka cites pressure in Olympic loss
July 27, 2021
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
