Bad mother ordered to learn right from wrong

A mother who abandoned her son twice will receive lesson on how to be a good parent, prosecutors in Changning District said on Sunday, the first time a court has followed such advice.

Ten years ago, the mother, He, who was married at the time, bore a son to a married man named Liu, which led to her husband divorcing her. Liu refused to raise the boy so He took Liu to court to demand maintenance.

A few days after the court ruled in He's favor, she abandoned to child in the court, but eventually, after several communications agreed to take him home.

Two years later, she left her son outside the court again, and the boy remained in a local private welfare home for four years. 

In November last year, prosecutors charged He with abandonment, but to protect the boy's rights, asked him if he wanted to live with his mother, and he affirmed that he did.

He was sentenced to three years in jail with a five-year reprieve by Changning District People's Court and ordered to receive parenting classes.

If she abandons the child again, the local civil affairs authority take over responsibility for the boy's care.