"Why Not Sleeping?" Daycare Director Covers 9-Month-Old Infant with Blanket Causing Death

After Covering with a Blanket to Nap, 14 Minutes of Pressure
Intent to Kill Not Recognized... Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison

A daycare center director in her 60s was sentenced to a heavy prison term for suffocating a 9-month-old child to death by laying the child down, covering them with a blanket, and pressing down on them because the child would not take a nap.

The Suwon District Court Criminal Division 15 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-jae) sentenced A, who was arrested and prosecuted on charges including violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse homicide), to 19 years in prison, according to a report by Yonhap News on the 21st.

The court also ordered A to complete 120 hours of a child abuse treatment program and imposed a 10-year employment ban at child-related institutions.

However, the court ruled on charges of child abuse causing death rather than child abuse homicide. The court judged that A did not have the intent to kill the child.

The court reasoned that it would be difficult to consider the act as intentional murder given that other childcare teachers were present and the situation was being recorded, and that A immediately called 119 after realizing the child was not breathing.

The court pointed out that "the defendant exerted strong force by pressing the child's body for a considerable amount of time to put the child to sleep, and even after the child's movements stopped, maintained the posture for about 7 minutes, lying on top of the child."

However, "the motive for the act was to put the child to sleep, and the defendant tried to reduce the pressure on the child using cushions, and when the child stopped breathing, the defendant called 119 and did not stop performing CPR until the rescue team arrived. Based on the prosecution's evidence alone, it is difficult to see that the defendant had definite or conditional intent to kill the child," the court stated.

Furthermore, the court explained the sentencing by saying, "The defendant's actions brutally trampled on the public's trust in childcare facility workers, causing parents to be anxious and lowering the pride of childcare workers. There were no measures taken to restore the damage, and the victim's side petitioned for severe punishment. For the sake of public legal sentiment and raising awareness among child workers, it is appropriate to impose the maximum sentence."

The day before the detention hearing (warrant review) for Jung Kyung-shim, wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and professor at Dongyang University, on the 22nd, the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Additionally, "The defendant continued the abuse without any sense of guilt until the victim child died. The victim lost a precious life, and the parents are suffering from the harsh reality of their young child returning as a cold corpse just five days after being sent to the daycare center," the court pointed out. "The deeply wounded parents will have no choice but to live in pain for the rest of their lives."

Cheon An-dong (33), the father of the child Cheon, criticized, "The defendant was on top of the child for 14 minutes, and it makes no sense that this is not considered murder." He added, "A 19-year prison sentence is too light. In Vietnam, if a child dies from abuse, the death penalty is imposed," expressing his intention to appeal.

Earlier, A was brought to trial on charges of suffocating Cheon by pressing down on him with her upper body for 14 minutes after laying him face down, covering his head with a blanket, and placing a cushion on him because he would not sleep at the daycare center she operated in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, on November 10 last year.