"To the Point of Bones Melting"... 20s Couple Neglects 9-Month-Old Daughter After Bowel Movement

Suspended Sentence for 20s Biological Parents Who Neglected 9-Month-Old Daughter
Femoral Growth Plate Fracture Due to Hip Joint Inflammation
Court: "Failed to Fulfill Even the Minimum Parental Duty"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A couple in their 20s who failed to change their child's diaper in time after defecation, causing the child's bones to deteriorate, received a suspended sentence.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Criminal Division 12 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Yoo Seok-cheol) sentenced the biological father A (27) and biological mother B (25), who were tried on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act (child abandonment and neglect), to one year in prison with a two-year suspension.

According to the investigation, around 2017, while raising their 9-month-old daughter, they left the child in an unsanitary environment and failed to clean properly, resulting in mold growing in the room. In October of the same year during the Chuseok holiday, after hearing from other family members that "the baby's leg looks painful," they took the child to the hospital, where it was diagnosed that the child already had purulent inflammation in the right hip joint and a fracture in the femoral growth plate.

Medical staff also predicted that the child might suffer from aftereffects that could impair walking. One doctor testified in court and to investigative agencies that "the child's head had not been washed for a long time and was in a grimy state," and that "the diaper rash was beyond what normally occurs."

The couple A denied the charges in court, stating, "We properly cleaned the room, changed the victim's diaper, and bathed the victim, and the hip joint inflammation was likely caused by pneumonia viruses or other infections."

However, the court pointed out, "The victim lived only with the defendants in the room and rarely went outside. Considering that the medical records were confirmed only once, it appears the child was left in an unsanitary environment." The court added, "Even if financially difficult, the defendants have the obligation to raise the victim to grow up healthy until adulthood," and "Despite the victim's bones deteriorating, the parents did not provide proper treatment and failed to fulfill even the minimum parental duties without remorse."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "Considering that the couple A has no prior criminal record and is fully raising the victim's younger sibling."