Father Arrested for Throwing 2-Month-Old Daughter Causing Severe Brain Hemorrhage... Risk of Escape Feared

Father accused of abusing his 2-month-old daughter at a motel in Incheon undergoes warrant hearing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A man in his 20s has been arrested by the police on suspicion of abusing his 2-month-old daughter at a motel in Incheon, causing her to fall into a critical condition due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

On the 15th, Judge Jung Wooyoung, who is in charge of warrants at the Incheon District Court, issued an arrest warrant for A (27) on charges of child abuse causing serious injury under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, stating "there is a risk of flight," following a pre-arrest detention hearing.

Before attending the detention hearing, A remained silent when reporters asked, "Besides throwing the child, was there any other abuse?" and "Why did you deny the charges at the beginning of the investigation?" but responded "I am worried about the child" when asked, "Aren't you worried about the child receiving treatment?"

At around midnight on the 13th, A called 119, reporting "My daughter is not breathing." When the fire department arrived, the daughter, B, was breathing but unconscious. The police found signs of suspected abuse on B's body and urgently arrested A.

A initially denied the charges but recently confessed during police questioning, saying, "(After my wife was arrested, I was taking care of two children alone in a motel) I got angry because she kept crying and threw my daughter onto a table." However, he claimed that he did not throw her very forcefully but that the child's head hit the wooden table.

A's family reportedly had conflicts with their landlord over the deposit and were evicted, after which they moved between several motels since last summer.

They were in such difficult financial circumstances that they received emergency livelihood support, and B was born in a motel in February of this year.

A's wife, C (22), who was not present at the scene when the incident occurred, was arrested and detained on fraud charges by the police on the 6th after being reported by the landlord, and A is said to have been raising the two children alone.

Meanwhile, B's 19-month-old older brother, who was left alone after the incident, was transferred to a childcare facility in Incheon.