Parents sentenced to prison over the drug death of baby

By Lin Chia-tung and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer





The parents of a two-month-old girl were yesterday sentenced to three months in prison for criminally negligent homicide of their daughter caused by smoking amphetamine-laced cigarettes, the Keelung District Court said.

A woman, surnamed Kang (康), and man, surnamed Lin (林), reportedly found their daughter dead in their underground residence in Keelung City’s Qidu District (七堵) in November 2016.

An autopsy showed that the cause of death was complications of interstitial pneumonia and early alveolar destruction due to over-ingestion of amphetamines, Prosecutor Yan Wan-yu (楊婉鈺) said.

The defendants were known amphetamine users, and Kang, despite being aware that the drugs could enter the womb and cause neonatal abstinence syndrome, chose to smoke amphetamine-laced cigarettes while pregnant, the court said.

The couple continued to smoke amphetamine-laced cigarettes after the baby was born and in her presence, which led to her inhaling second-hand smoke, which contributed to her death, the court said.

As the couple clearly understood the risks of using drugs, their actions are considered criminally negligent homicide, the court said.

Kang and Lin were handed a three-month prison sentence, which can be commuted to a NT$90,000 fine.