Mother used Tabasco sauce as punishment
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday March 26, 2010
A MOTHER who forced her children to eat Tabasco sauce as a form of punishment and brainwashed them not to call her former husband "dad" has been ordered by a court to undergo psychological treatment after a judge found her actions had been "entirely inappropriate".The woman, known as Ms Israel, had made an application to the Family Court of Australia seeking her five-year-old son, known as "M", be returned to her after he was removed from her care last December.She and the child's father, known as Mr Hilder, had separated in 2006 when both shared custody of him.However in 2008, for a period of about five months, the woman denied the father access, contrary to an order by Brisbane Family Court.Ms Israel has an older son to another man and since separating from Mr Hilder has remarried and given birth to another child.The court heard that the mother had a history of physical abuse against her older son whose school had taken out a restraining order prohibiting her to enter.She had told a teacher at the school that if her son did not behave to "tell him I have a bottle of Tabasco", the court heard.Judge Graham Bell said it was "clear" the mother had administered the hot sauce to her children as a form of punishment and that "M" had been subjected to it from the age of three.The older boy had said he found it funny because his stepbrother "pees his pants and looks very scared" when threatened with the punishment.The court also heard the younger son's enrolment at a childcare centre was terminated due to the mother's conduct, which included a threat to stab a staff member with a safety pin.Judge Bell found that the mother had "brainwashed" the older son to refer to his stepfather by name, rather than to call him "dad" and that the younger boy would be unable to have a meaningful relationship with his father if he was returned to the mother."I am more than satisfied, in all the circumstances, that her conduct is totally inappropriate," Judge Bell said, acknowledging the woman had unresolved issues from an abusive relationship with her father.The judge ordered that the child live with his father and that the mother not be allowed to have unsupervised visits with her son until she had undergone appropriate psychological treatment.
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
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