40s Man Sent to Prosecution for Beating 11-Year-Old Son to Death

Difficult to Recognize Intent to Kill, Says Police

A man in his 40s who fatally beat his 11-year-old elementary school son to the point of bruising his entire body has been handed over to the prosecution on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

The Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Division of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 24th that they had sent Mr. A, a man in his 40s who was arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to the prosecution.

Mr. A is accused of beating his 5th-grade son, B (11), with a blunt object at an apartment in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on the afternoon of the 16th, causing his death. Early the next day, Mr. A himself called 119, saying, "My son is not breathing." B was transported to a general hospital by the 119 emergency medical team with bruises all over his body but ultimately died.

The police conducted a digital forensic investigation on the mobile phones of Mr. A and his wife. However, no signs of abuse toward B were found prior to the incident. They also considered applying charges of child abuse homicide against Mr. A but judged it difficult to recognize intent to kill.

During the police investigation, Mr. A admitted to the charges, saying, "I hit my son to discipline him because he did not listen." The police have also booked the wife, a woman in her 40s, on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act and are further investigating whether she aided or abetted her husband's crime or neglected to properly care for their son.