A baby cries in Trinwillershagen, Germany
A baby cries in Trinwillershagen, Germany Reuters/Jim Bourg

In a reported case, the Chief Justice suspended the sentence of a man who intentionally and violently shook his own infant daughter so hard that she suffered from irreversible brain damage and became crippled for life.

The judgment was passed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Helen Murrell and was taken in light of the man's mental condition. The person in question has been determined as mentally impaired, which causes him to become very frustrated and aggressive.

As per ABC News, the incident occurred in December 2010 in Canberra when a three-week-old baby girl was left alone with her father for a couple of hours while the mother went to run some errands. When she returned, she suspected that something was off as the baby looked pale, lying still and cold.

The infant was immediately taken to The Canberra Hospital where she was diagnosed with catastrophic brain injury--much to everyone's shock. Three days later, the baby was air lifted to provide her with better medical facilities at Sydney's Children Hospital.

Several weeks later, the man admitted that he shook the baby twice out of frustration as she had been crying continuously. The infant subsequently suffered from irreversible brain damage and is now crippled for life.

The judge acknowledged the outrageous behaviour of the man and described it as reprehensible. However, she reportedly took a lenient approach keeping in mind his mental condition and vulnerability.

"The conduct of shaking a baby and thereby causing profound injury would normally attract a stern punishment," said the honourable judge. Judge Murrel felt that if the mentally impaired man is sent to jail, he will be likely to get influenced by anti-social elements present there. The judge then fully suspended the man's 13 months and two weeks jail sentence, and ordered him to exhibit good behaviour for two years instead.

The baby suffered from 'shaken-baby syndrome' after her father shook her violently. In small kids, the size of their brains is smaller than the size of their skulls as they it is still developing. This leaves a small gap between the skull and brain. BabyCenter tells that in such scenarios, when a child is shaken back and forth with force, the brain of the child gets bumped against the skull causing bruising, swelling and even bleeding. The normal ways of interaction, playing and jumping the child can never cause such traumatic syndrome.