Drug user sentenced to 5 years for abducting 3-year-old

A Hubei province man has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for kidnapping a 3-year-old boy in Pudong New Area while under the influence of drugs, a district court said Thursday.

The defendant, surnamed Li, 26, was charged with kidnapping for taking the boy hostage on April 5 while in a drug-induced state of paranoia, according to a press release from Pudong New Area People's Court.

Li had been behaving erratically before he came across the boy near the intersection of Shangnan and Gaoqing roads around 8 pm.

The defendant, who was driving with his wife, believed someone dangerous was following him, so he decided to pull over near the intersection. The court said Li had taken a drug earlier in the day, but did not specify which one.

After leaving his wife in the car, Li grabbed a kitchen knife from a nearby food stall and smashed the windshield of another car parked on the road, the court said. He then picked up the boy, who was playing outside with his mother.

Li told the boy's mother to call the police because he believed someone was chasing him. A police officer on patrol nearby soon arrived and restrained Li.

In court, Li's lawyer argued that the defendant wasn't guilty of kidnapping because he never intended to hurt the boy or otherwise engage in criminal activity, which is a requisite for the charge.

Although the court acknowledged that the defendant didn't intend to hurt the child at the time, it pointed out that Li still took the boy hostage at knifepoint. That action alone constituted kidnapping.

There is a minimum 10-year prison sentence for kidnapping, according to China's criminal law.

However, the court gave Li a lenient sentence because his actions did not have serious consequences.

The court also fined Li 5,000 yuan ($815).