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Daughter's death gets man 6 1 /2 years

A judge sentenced a Halifax man to 6 1 /2 years in prison Tuesday for the death of his infant daughter, saying he lacked the empathy to see he was severely injuring the seven-week-old child when he slapped and shook her.

A judge sentenced a Halifax man to 6 1 /2 years in prison Tuesday for the death of his infant daughter, saying he lacked the empathy to see he was severely injuring the seven-week-old child when he slapped and shook her.

Ashiqur Rahman, 26, was found guilty in June of manslaughter and aggravated assault in the July 2009 death of seven-week old Aurora Breakthrough, who suffered broken ribs and internal bleeding, court heard.

Judge Felix Cacchione of Nova Scotia Supreme Court said the former computer science student did not seem to fully realize the damage he was causing when he slapped, shook and tossed Aurora on five occasions after he grew increasingly frustrated with a series of business failures and the child's cries.

During the trial, physicians testified that Aurora suffered brain tissue tears, bleeding behind her left eye and had 27 rib fractures at the time of her death.

These injuries weren't visible and hadn't been detected by a clinic prior to the girl's death.