The District (n.區域) Court (n.法院) has sentenced (v.判刑) a single (adj.單身的) mother to six years for neglecting (v.疏於照顧) her infant (n.嬰兒) son who eventually (adv.最終地) starved (v.挨餓) to death.
In sentencing 32-year-old So Suk-yee (n.蘇淑儀), Deputy District Court Judge (n.法官) Pang Chung-ping (n.彭中屏) described her as "very cruel."
So reportedly (adv.據稱) showed no remorse (n.懊悔), told lies and claimed (v.聲稱) that she fed her baby properly (adv.足夠地) but he was unable to absorb the nutrients (n.營養).
The judge said the reports he received suggested (v.顯示) So is capable (adj.有能力的) of repeating the offense (n.罪行). She has four other children.
So is not classified (v.歸類) as mentally (adv.智力上、精神上) retarded (adj.遲鈍的) by law and is not mentally ill either so the judge saw no reason to reduce the sentence (n.刑罰).
Judge Pang said he had to pass (v.宣布) a deterrent (adj.具阻嚇性的) sentence to show the seriousness of the offense.
The court heard that the baby weighed (v.體重是) 2.85 kilograms (n.千克) at birth but had gained only 160 grams (n.克) at the time of death three months later.
In an earlier hearing (n.聆訊), Judge Pang said he found the photographs of the baby shocking (adj.令人震驚的). His "thinness is worse than the starving children in Africa (n.非洲) and the Third World (n.第三世界)," he said.
(The Standard, October 30)
一名單身母親疏於照顧親生男嬰，導致他最終餓死，區域法院判她入獄六年。
被告是三十二歲的蘇淑儀，暫委法官彭中屏判刑時形容她“極為殘忍”。
據稱蘇淑儀毫無悔意，並訛稱她已給嬰孩足夠食物，只是他不能吸收營養而已。
法官指出，他收到的報告顯示蘇淑儀可能會重犯這種罪行；她尚有四名子女。
蘇淑儀沒有歸類為法定上的智力遲鈍，也沒有精神病，因此法官看不到有任何減刑理由。
彭法官指出，為了顯出罪行如何嚴重，他不得不宣判具阻嚇性的刑罰。
法庭案情透露，嬰孩出生時重二點八五千克，但三個月後逝世時只重了一百六十克。
彭法官在早前的聆訊中表示，嬰孩的照片令人震驚。他說，嬰孩“瘦弱程度比非洲和第三世界的饑荒兒童還要嚴重。”
（《英文虎報》，十月三十日）
閱讀指引
1. infant (n) /'Infənt/，IN-funt 嬰兒、幼兒
解讀：infant可指baby（嬰兒）或very young child（幼兒），常放在另一名詞前充當形容詞，例如文中首段的infant son是男嬰，又例如infant mortality (rate)是嬰幼兒死亡率，infant prodigy是神童。
2. retarded (adj) /rI'tɑ:dId/，ri-TARD-did 遲鈍的、弱智的
解讀：retarded本身已可指弱智的、智力遲鈍的，但也可如文中第五段般說作mentally retarded；此外，尚有emotionally retarded（情緒遲鈍的）或educationally retarded（學習遲緩的）等說法。
3. deterrent (adj) /dI'terənt/，di-TER-runt 具阻嚇性的、殺一儆百的
解讀：deterrent本是名詞，解作阻嚇、殺一儆百的東西，例如︰The life sentence has acted as a deterrent to others（終身監禁對其他人起了殺一儆百的作用）；deterrent也可用作形容詞，意思相若，文中倒數第三段的deterrent sentence（具阻嚇性的刑罰）便是如此。
