A 23-year-old Australian woman was jailed for six years today for deliberately poisoning her four-year-old daughter with cancer drugs and then detailing the girl's "fight for life" on Facebook to garner attention.
The woman deliberately made her daughter ill by feeding her chemotherapy drugs bought online and set up a web page saying her daughter needed a bone marrow transplant.
The mother chronicled her sick daughter's so-called "fight for life" on a Facebook page which had more than 8000 supporters and raised an estimated 500 dollars in cash donations, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported.
The mother, who was not named to protect the identity of the child, pleaded guilty for giving the drugs to her child.
"Your betrayal of your daughter's trust is incomprehensible. You must have been aware of the serious harm you were causing to your daughter. Your conduct was intended to make your daughter unwell for the purpose of attracting attention for yourself," said Judge Tony Rafter while sentencing the mother of two to six years in jail.
The drugs made the child, who did not have cancer, to suffer life-threathening bone marrow failure last year.
Prosecutor Glen Cash said health professionals suspected the young girl was being poisoned and their suspicions were confirmed when police searched the women's home and found a pill crusher and receipts for the cancer drug.
The mother's lawyer, however, said the woman suffered a rare mental disorder known as factitious disorder by proxy, whereby a person deliberately produces or exaggerates symptoms of someone in their care.
The child is now under the care of her grandparents and is making good recovery, the report said.
