Mother admits giving 3-year-old cigs and beer
A mother from Malmö in southern Sweden, charged with forcing her 3-year-old son to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol at a party last year, has confessed to all charges but was unable to offer the court any explanation why she acted the way she did.
“She had no explanation. She had drunk alcohol and smoked cannabis,” said prosecutor Klas Norelius to local paper Skånskan.
At the party, which took place in June last year, the 3-year-old boy was filmed as he was urged to smoke a cigarette given to him by his mother.
“Take a toke then you little… inhale then… come on now. Inhale a little. Light it up now, for goodness sake, get the damned thing going,” the mother said according to the transcript.
Some other party goers then gave the boy a can of beer. The mother did not protest. They started joking about what would happen if the social services found out
The mother allegedly told the boy not to tell them, called him a squealer and a snitch and flicked her fingers at his head.
In questioning, the adults present at the incident have said that it wasn’t beer in the can but water and that the 3-year-old was given a cigarette so as to feel “nauseous and dizzy” and develop distaste for tobacco.
However, the district court charged the woman with reckless behaviour, bootlegging and narcotics crimes. She has reportedly confessed to all three.
The prosecutor had initially hoped to charge the woman with child abuse, but her reckless behaviour in letting her child smoke and drink together with actively blowing smoke at her son was not deemed enough to prove she was abusing her child, according to the paper.
The fact that the incident was caught on camera meant that the prosecution had a strong case against the woman. The prosecution is demanding the woman is fined and according to Norelius, it is important that the woman is convicted.
The mother’s defence lawyer has argued that parents are allowed to let their children try alcohol in some instances.
“He will have to speak for himself, but in my opinion you should never offer alcohol to a 3-year-old,” said Norelius to Skånskan.
The Local/rm
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“She had no explanation. She had drunk alcohol and smoked cannabis,” said prosecutor Klas Norelius to local paper Skånskan.
At the party, which took place in June last year, the 3-year-old boy was filmed as he was urged to smoke a cigarette given to him by his mother.
“Take a toke then you little… inhale then… come on now. Inhale a little. Light it up now, for goodness sake, get the damned thing going,” the mother said according to the transcript.
Some other party goers then gave the boy a can of beer. The mother did not protest. They started joking about what would happen if the social services found out
The mother allegedly told the boy not to tell them, called him a squealer and a snitch and flicked her fingers at his head.
In questioning, the adults present at the incident have said that it wasn’t beer in the can but water and that the 3-year-old was given a cigarette so as to feel “nauseous and dizzy” and develop distaste for tobacco.
However, the district court charged the woman with reckless behaviour, bootlegging and narcotics crimes. She has reportedly confessed to all three.
The prosecutor had initially hoped to charge the woman with child abuse, but her reckless behaviour in letting her child smoke and drink together with actively blowing smoke at her son was not deemed enough to prove she was abusing her child, according to the paper.
The fact that the incident was caught on camera meant that the prosecution had a strong case against the woman. The prosecution is demanding the woman is fined and according to Norelius, it is important that the woman is convicted.
The mother’s defence lawyer has argued that parents are allowed to let their children try alcohol in some instances.
“He will have to speak for himself, but in my opinion you should never offer alcohol to a 3-year-old,” said Norelius to Skånskan.
The Local/rm
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