A 47-year-old woman was given a suspended six-month jail sentence for stabbing a police officer with a pair of scissors when he stopped her on suspicion of begging with her baby in a Thessaloniki suburb.

The incident occurred on Monday at the Aretso Marina in Kalamaria when the officer asked to see the woman’s identification following complaints a woman had been begging in the area with a small child. The woman stabbed the policeman in the arm before running off with the baby. The officer suffered a slight injury and the woman was arrested the following day.

She apologized to the misdemeanor court in Thessaloniki yesterday and said she acted in self-defense because she was afraid that the officer was going to snatch her child.

The three judges noted her regret and suspended her sentence for resisting authority and causing bodily harm.