As a mom of two wonderful adult kids, I cannot even fathom punishing a child for eating candy when they weren't supposed to. I mean name one kid in the world who hasn't done this? I actually probably would have laughed it off and moved on....maybe even asked if they got one for me, giggle, giggle...
If it was stealing the candy (which it wasn't) we would have talked about not stealing. Then they would have had to pay back whoever it was they took it from and apologize. But you know it wouldn't have been an earth-shaking event. It just would have been a "this is how we do things" event.
If it was a legitimate health issue, we would talk about it and moved on. My husband is diabetic and he shouldn't eat candy. But you know, sometimes he does. And really, so what?
If I did have to punish one of them for something, I always chose activities, like doing dishes, vacuuming, working in the yard, you know, something that made them see they had accomplished something when they were done (and they were given great praise for it) and coincidentally it would be something that made my life easier. I'm not completely dumb. My kids are in their 30's and very responsible, hard-working, good kids.
I feel so bad for this little girl.