Woman in China handed 6-month jail term for growing opium poppies on roof, says they were spices for hotpot cooking
- Police discover flowers on top of building during routine check by drones
- Woman says late father gave her seeds, uses them in favourite recipe
A woman in China has been handed a six-month suspended jail term for planting opium poppies on her roof, claiming she used them as cooking ingredients.
Police in Taijiang county of Guizhou province in the country’s southwest spotted the flowers, which they suspected were opium poppies, on the top of a residential building during a routine drone patrol, Star Video reported.
An on-site inspection discovered more than 900 plants had been grown by a woman called Zhang.
Officers took samples which confirmed that the plants were opium poppies, the contents of which are used in medications such as codeine and morphine, the report said.
Zhang said she got the seeds from her father who has passed away. She planted them because she likes to add them as seasoning to hotpot, her favourite home-made food.
She was charged with the crime of growing the original plants of an illegal drug.
