A Melbourne mother who killed her baby girl by leaving her in a hot car will spend nine months in jail before being eligible for parole.
Michelle Nguyen, 21, was sentenced to four years' jail in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of her 10-month-old daughter Thy Tran.
The baby died of hyperthermia in November 2011 after being left in a sealed car on a warm day, having had a body temperature of 41.5C.
Justice Betty King said while Nguyen had not intended to kill her baby, she had ignored numerous warnings by family, friends and neighbours about her practice of leaving her baby in the car to sleep.
She said Nguyen's sentence had to serve as a warning to the rest of the community about the consequences of the dangerous practice.
"This is a tragedy in every sense of the word," said Justice King.
"You have lost your daughter, she has lost her life.
"Your punishment will continue probably for most of your life as you live with the knowledge of what you have done.
"Your failure to listen to or heed any of the warnings that you were given in relation to leaving this infant in the car will be undoubtedly something you will remember for the rest of your life."
Justice King said she would impose a "much lower than normal" minimum term on Nguyen's sentence, to allow her to maximise her prospects of rehabilitation.
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