A Parent Threw a Used Diaper at a Daycare Teacher... Probation in First Trial

Hit face with poop ear cleaner in hand
"Considering that the injury is not serious"

A parent who threw a dirty diaper at a daycare teacher's face was sentenced to probation.

On the 22nd, Judge Ko Young-sik of the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced A (45), who was charged with assault, to six months in prison with a two-year probation. A was indicted for hitting daycare teacher B (53) in the face with his second son's dirty diaper inside a hospital bathroom in Sejong at around 4:20 p.m. on September 10 last year, covering B's face with feces and causing injuries including bruises around the eyes, resulting in a two-week recovery period.

A was at the hospital due to the second son's hospitalization and had suspected abuse after the first son, C (2), was injured at the daycare. B, along with the director, visited the hospital to apologize regarding C's injury. It was confirmed that A committed the act in a fit of anger while talking with B. Judge Ko stated, "The crime is serious as the victim, who came to have a conversation, was hit in the face with a dirty diaper causing injuries. The teacher likely felt humiliation and mental shock," but also noted, "Considering that the offender admitted the crime and the injuries were not severe."

Meanwhile, after the incident, A said in a media interview, "Looking back now, I wonder why I couldn't act rationally, why I acted emotionally instead of ensuring the person at fault was properly punished. If I think about it now, I wouldn't have acted that way... At that moment, I couldn't see anything. (The teacher) only looked like a demon to me," expressing remorse.

B's husband posted on the National Assembly's public consent petition site after the incident last year, stating, "Bad teachers can be punished, but what should teachers do when they cannot avoid bad parents?" He claimed, "My wife has been subjected to continuous verbal abuse and unfair demands from parents," and called for institutional measures to protect the human rights of daycare teachers.