A couple in their 20s who left their seven-month-old son home alone while frequenting a PC cafe to play games, ultimately causing his death, have been indicted. The deceased child weighed just 3 kilograms, the level of a newborn.
According to the legal community on the 1st, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office indicted the couple, identified as A and B, the previous day on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act (habitual child abandonment and neglect) and child abuse resulting in death.
The couple is accused of neglecting their seven-month-old son, identified as C, over a prolonged period, causing his death from malnutrition and dehydration.
Police, who received a report from a hospital on the 5th that "there is a deceased child," requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service during the investigation. The service concluded that C's cause of death was malnutrition and dehydration.
The investigation found that A and B, who had no particular jobs, left the child home alone for extended periods while frequenting a PC cafe to play games. At the time of death, C weighed 3 kilograms, the level of a newborn.
During the police investigation, the couple reportedly stated that while "it is true that we were negligent toward the child," they had no intent to kill.
However, police concluded the couple had willful negligence based on a comprehensive review of the National Forensic Service autopsy results and the circumstances of the neglect. They applied the charge of child abuse resulting in death (murder), which carries a heavier sentence than child abuse resulting in death (manslaughter).
