[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A woman who caused the death of her newborn baby by putting the infant into a toilet received a suspended prison sentence in the appellate court.
The Criminal Appeals Division 1 of Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Seongmuk) overturned the first trial's sentence of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment for A, who was convicted of infanticide and corpse abandonment, and instead sentenced her to 1 year and 6 months imprisonment with a 3-year suspension. Along with this, she was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and was prohibited from operating or working at child-related institutions for 5 years.
The appellate court stated, "Considering the nature of the crime, actual imprisonment is inevitable, but (A’s) father has pledged to take good care of her," and added, "Given the defendant’s young age and the decision to release her, we hope she lives in a way that can stand by this decision with dignity."
A in her 20s, who had sexual relations with a man last June, found out about her pregnancy in January this year. When she visited an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, she was told that she could not have an abortion surgery, so she purchased abortion pills from an illegal internet site and took them.
About a week after taking the pills, A experienced abdominal pain and prematurely gave birth to the baby in her home bathroom. At that time, the baby was alive, but while exchanging text messages with a person involved in the abortion pill sales site, A drowned the baby in the toilet water, causing its death, and buried the body underground in a shoebox.
In the first trial, A wrote nearly 20 letters of apology, and during the appellate trial, she submitted 15 letters of apology and pledges to prevent reoffending, acknowledging her wrongdoing.
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