Nurse jailed in UK's 1st force-feeding baby case
Source: Agencies |
November 12, 2011, Saturday
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A NURSE was jailed for three years yesterday after being found guilty of killing her baby by force-feeding her, in the first case of its kind in Britain.
Gloria Dwomoh, 31, was convicted at London's Old Bailey last month of causing or allowing the death of 10-month-old Diamond.
She was said to be obsessed with Diamond's weight and poured liquidized food down her throat with a jug when she was weaning her.
Diamond died in March last year after being taken to a hospital near her home in Waltham Forest, east London, the Press Association reported.
A post-mortem examination found she died from pneumonia caused by food, including meat and cereals, in her lungs.
The prosecution said Diamond was forced to take her feed from the jug after the spout was placed in her mouth.
"She has endured the loss of her child for over a year. She has been punished enough," said Dwomoh's lawyer Trevor Burke.
He presented the court with a 1,000-signature petition from family and friends pleading for mercy, and asked the judge to impose a suspended sentence.
But Judge Brian Barker described Dwomoh's actions as a "misguided obsession."
"The forcing of food into your daughter against her natural instincts would have caused her daily distress," he said.
"At best it was a misguided obsession - but a determined obsession - which must have caused daily prolonged distress to your daughter.
"It cannot be described as an act of kindness. It took away her life and that is something you must live with."
He said the practice of feeding by pouring food from a cup or jug into a child's throat was culturally acceptable in some parts of the world.
"In this country the feeding of a child in this way, against its will, is wrong and dangerous," he added.
Gloria Dwomoh, 31, was convicted at London's Old Bailey last month of causing or allowing the death of 10-month-old Diamond.
She was said to be obsessed with Diamond's weight and poured liquidized food down her throat with a jug when she was weaning her.
Diamond died in March last year after being taken to a hospital near her home in Waltham Forest, east London, the Press Association reported.
A post-mortem examination found she died from pneumonia caused by food, including meat and cereals, in her lungs.
The prosecution said Diamond was forced to take her feed from the jug after the spout was placed in her mouth.
"She has endured the loss of her child for over a year. She has been punished enough," said Dwomoh's lawyer Trevor Burke.
He presented the court with a 1,000-signature petition from family and friends pleading for mercy, and asked the judge to impose a suspended sentence.
But Judge Brian Barker described Dwomoh's actions as a "misguided obsession."
"The forcing of food into your daughter against her natural instincts would have caused her daily distress," he said.
"At best it was a misguided obsession - but a determined obsession - which must have caused daily prolonged distress to your daughter.
"It cannot be described as an act of kindness. It took away her life and that is something you must live with."
He said the practice of feeding by pouring food from a cup or jug into a child's throat was culturally acceptable in some parts of the world.
"In this country the feeding of a child in this way, against its will, is wrong and dangerous," he added.
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