CHANGNYEONG — A couple in their 20s who abused their two-year-old son and left him unattended for about 45 hours until he died were sentenced to 17 years and five years in prison, respectively, in a first trial ruling. The court did not find that they had acted with implied intent to kill.
The Miryang branch of the Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Chief Judge Han Yun-ok, on the 30th sentenced the father, identified only as A, to 17 years in prison, convicting him of fatal child abuse. He had been indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, specifically child abuse homicide.
The court also ordered him to complete a 40-hour child abuse treatment program and barred him from working at child-related institutions for 10 years. It rejected prosecutors' requests for 20 years of electronic monitoring and five years of probation.
The mother, identified only as B, who was indicted on the same charge, was sentenced to five years in prison on the fatal child abuse count and ordered to complete a 40-hour child abuse treatment program and barred from working at child-related institutions for five years. Requests for 10 years of electronic monitoring and five years of probation for B were also rejected.
The child's maternal grandfather, identified only as C, who helped A dispose of the boy's body, received a suspended sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years. Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for A, 18 years for B and one year and six months for C.
The couple was indicted on charges of abusing their son, identified only as D and then two years old, at their home in Changnyeong County in January this year and causing his death by failing to secure proper treatment even as his condition became critical.
Investigators found that A beat D repeatedly with a back scratcher and with his hands and feet because the boy would not sleep and kept moving around. B was accused of binding D's body with her own clothing to keep him from moving.
Investigators found that the couple left the boy unattended without taking him to a hospital or calling emergency services, even after he showed signs of severe dehydration and diminished consciousness. Prosecutors concluded that A and B abused and neglected D for about 45 hours, leading to his death.
After D died, A and C were also accused of putting the body in a burlap sack and dumping it at an abandoned house in Docheon-myeon, Changnyeong County.
The court said it was difficult to conclude that the couple had acted with implied intent to kill, and convicted them of fatal child abuse rather than child abuse homicide.
"What the victimized child needed on the day of the incident was an immediate emergency call and transport to a medical institution, but the measures the defendants took were markedly inadequate," the court said. "Still, it is difficult to conclude that the evidence submitted by the prosecution proves the defendants recognized the possibility of the child's death and were willing to accept that outcome."
Explaining the sentence, the court said "severe punishment is unavoidable" for A, citing his repeated abuse of his son, his refusal of B's demands to call emergency services out of fear the abuse would be discovered, and his attempt to cover up the crime by dumping the body after D died.
As for B, the court said it was "difficult to assess her responsibility as equal to A's," taking into account that she followed his instructions out of fear of his violent tendencies, that she repeatedly demanded emergency services be called, and that she did not take part in disposing of the body.
