Mother jailed for neglect

AN Australian woman who admitted spending benefit money on cigarettes and gambling was jailed for six years for neglecting five of her eight children.

She was sentenced in Adelaide by Judge Chris Kourakis of the South Australian Supreme Court.

She pleaded guilty last month to two counts of endangering life and three counts of creating a risk of serious harm relating to five children.

The woman cannot be named to protect the identity of her children.

Prosecutor Jim Pearce told the court that the children were starved and sometimes forced to vomit if they ate when they were not supposed to. They were also made to stand against a wall all day and beaten for misbehaving.