A Hong Kong man has been jailed for eight months after his two daughters ate cannabis-infused sweets and ended up in hospital.
The 26-year-old construction worker, who was identified in court only by the initials C. K. W., appeared at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of ill-treatment or neglect of children, and one count of possessing dangerous drugs, and was convicted earlier this month.
Handing down the sentence, magistrate Raymond Wong said the defendant’s neglect of his two children caused them to experience serious health conditions, local media reported. The older daughter ended up in an intensive care unit, he said.
According to the case details, the two girls were trembling after eating the sweets, with the older daughter losing consciousness. THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis, was found in their urine samples.
C. K. W. was delivered an eight-month jail term for the neglect charges and a two-week sentence for the drug possession offence, Sing Tao reported. Both terms are to be served at the same time, Wong said, meaning the defendant will serve a total of eight months.
The case made local headlines last June when two girls, aged two and four, were sent to hospital after reportedly consuming cannabis-infused sweets. Two people, C. K. W. and a woman – reportedly his sister – were arrested.
The woman had given the sweets to the children in their Tin Shui Wai home believing they were regular candy, local media said citing sources. They were sent to Tin Shui Wai Hospital before being transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital.
‘I put them in my room’
During the trial, the police officer who arrested C. K. W. said he had told him under police caution that the cannabis-infused sweets were his.
“I bought the pack of cannabis-infused sweets for myself,” the defendant had said, the court heard.
“I put them in my room… I never thought my two daughters would eat them,” he added.
But the defence argued that C. K. W. only made those statements because police threatened to “investigate his whole family” if he denied it.
Judge Wong said he did not believe that the defendant, a working adult, would randomly provide details in the face of serious charges. The defendant also did not look scared in a video of that interview, Wong added.
The judge also said that the officers had followed standard procedures in their investigation, ruling that the defendant had voluntarily made the confession.
In mitigation earlier this month, C. K. W.’s lawyer said the incident happened when his client was going through a divorce, and he got the cannabis-infused sweets because he was feeling down, local media reported. His client was the breadwinner of the family and also took care of his physically disabled father.
The lawyer added that the defendant’s chances of re-offending were low as the children were now being taken care of by their mother.
The possession of cannabis is illegal under the city’s Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Last year, the government criminalised cannabidiol, the cannabis compound found in edible oils, moisturisers, gummy bears and other consumer products.
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