A woman in the republic of Buryatia faces manslaughter charges for inadvertently killing her 13-year-old son by forcing him to swallow chewing tobacco.
In an online statement published Tuesday, the Buryatia investigative committee said the boy's parents had wanted to punish him after repeatedly discovering chewing tobacco in his possession.
But after being forced to swallow the tobacco, instead of chewing it as is customary, the boy "almost immediately lost consciousness," the statement said.
The teenager, from the Targabataisky district, was immediately transported to a hospital for treatment when the incident occurred on May 9 but died weeks later.
Although the exact cause of death has yet to be determined by an autopsy, investigators said the boy's heart had likely stopped due to the toxic effect of nicotine released by the leaves.
The specific kind of chewing tobacco he had been using, Nasvai, is popular in Central Asia and known for its high concentration of nicotine. According to the investigators' statement, the teenager had gotten the substance from an older classmate.
Manslaughter is punishable by up to two years in prison.
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