A Taichung mother took drugs and sent her 5-month-old daughter to the "gas chamber". Her hair was found to be amphetamine and she was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

The Taichung District Court sentenced Li to one year and six months in prison. (File photo)

A woman surnamed Li in Taichung knew that she had a 5-month-old daughter at home, but she still took drugs next to her child. The baby girl was exposed to poisonous smoke for a long time and was trapped in a "gas chamber". Her hair showed amphetamine reaction. After a trial, the Taichung District Court recently sentenced Li to one year and six months in prison for interfering with the development of a person under the age of 7.

After investigation, Li gave birth to a baby girl in January 2025. In June of the same year, when her daughter was only 5 months old, she took drugs such as etomidate and amphetamines at her residence. The young baby girl was innocently exposed to drug smoke in the same space. When the task force initially searched the house, they only found that Li was suspected of taking drugs. Subsequent investigations also found that she was suspected of being involved in drug trafficking, and the case continued to expand.

The prosecutor further instructed to collect the hair of the baby girl for testing. The results were shocking. The hair of the baby girl was found to have a concentration of methamphetamine as high as 7880pg/mg, and amphetamine 311pg/mg. It was confirmed that the child as young as 5 months old had been affected by drug exposure.

Based on the baby girl's hair growth rate and test results, it can be inferred that Li did not stop taking drugs after being searched. Instead, she continued to use drugs at her residence after the task force first came to investigate, exposing the baby who should have been protected by her mother to a dangerous environment.

The prosecutor believed that Ms. Li had been imprisoned for a drug case in the past. After she was released from prison, she even received relevant correctional treatment, but she still used drugs again. This showed her lack of respect for legal norms, and the punishment had a limited effect on her vigilance. She should be given a harsher sentence and prosecuted for the crime of interfering with the development of young children. The Intermediate People's Court believed that Ms. Li was a recidivist. Considering that she had entered a plea bargain outside the trial, the whole case was charged with interfering with the development of a person under the age of 7 and sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, which can be appealed.