Australian woman charged with poisoning baby to get online donations

An Australian mother has been charged with poisoning her one-year-old baby girl and posting video of the infant's distress to get online GoFundMe donations, police and local media said on Thursday.

The 34-year-old woman allegedly went to "great lengths" to conceal that she was giving prescription and pharmacy drugs to the baby without medical approval, Queensland detective inspector Paul Dalton told reporters.

Hospital staff in the Queensland capital Brisbane alerted police to their suspicions in October last year when the girl was there for treatment of a serious mental condition, Dalton said.

Police took "immediate action" to protect the baby and launched an investigation, he said.

The woman from Queensland's Sunshine Coast was widely reported in local media to be the baby's mother, though police would not officially confirm this. She was charged on Thursday with 11 offences.

'Repulsive offences'

She was accused of filming and posting images of the baby's "immense distress and pain" between August and October last year to elicit financial donations from online followers, Dalton said.

Testing for unauthorized medicines allegedly returned a positive result this month, police said.

"There are no words to describe just how repulsive offences of this nature are," Dalton said.

"There is no excuse for hurting a child, particularly one so young that is totally dependent on adults to care and love for them."

The woman is accused of raising just over Aus$60,000 (US$37,000) via GoFundMe, which was working to return the money to donors, Dalton said.

She was scheduled to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.