"40-Year-Old Biological Father Abused Three Children with Water Bottles, Saying 'My 9-Year-Old Daughter Lied'"

Beaten with a switch until the ankle bone breaks
Emotional abuse including forcing face into water container causing bone fractures

Photo source: Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] A man in his 40s who habitually abused his children was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 15th, Judge Kim Daehyun of the 4th Criminal Division of Daegu District Court announced that A (41), who was tried on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act, was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.

He was also ordered to undergo probation, complete 120 hours of child abuse recidivism prevention education, and was banned from employment at child-related institutions for 3 years.

A was indicted on charges of abusing his three biological children 15 times over several years.

In 2016, A put his daughters’ heads into a 60cm-high water container filled with water and then took them out, sprayed water on their faces with a showerhead, and committed abuse against his three children a total of 15 times because his daughters, then aged 11 and 7, were being defiant.

A particularly abused his eldest daughter B, who was a teenager, over a long period. It was revealed that last year, he hit his then 9-year-old daughter’s leg with a cane until her ankle bone was broken because he believed she was lying.

When the daughter, unable to endure A’s abuse, ran away from home, in October of last year, he forcibly took her from a friend’s house, slapped her cheeks and head with his hands, and cut about 25cm of her hair with scissors.

The court stated, "The means and methods of the crime are so harsh that they cannot be seen as part of normal discipline. Especially, the abuse of B was carried out throughout her growth process, which is of a bad nature, and it is believed that the victims experienced severe mental shock and fear."

However, the court added, "The defendant admitted the crime and showed remorse, two young children want to return to the family, and if the defendant is detained, there is no one to support the two children, which were considered favorable circumstances."

Instead, A was ordered to undergo probation and complete 120 hours of child abuse recidivism prevention education.