"Neglect of Immobile Father"... Son in His 40s Receives One Year Prison Sentence, Suspended for Elder Abuse

Neglect of Duty of Care for Five Months, Including Food and Hygiene
Court: "Contributed to Father's Death"

A man in his 40s who neglected his father in his 70s?who was unable to move easily after colon cancer surgery and failed to provide him with adequate meals and medical care?has received a suspended prison sentence from the court.

On May 3, Judge Kang Youngsun of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 14 announced that defendant A (46), who was indicted on charges of violating the Welfare of the Aged Act, was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, along with a three-year employment restriction order at institutions related to the elderly.

According to the court, from September 2023 to January of last year, A was indicted for neglecting his duty of care by failing to provide even minimal food to his father B, with whom he lived at their home in Gyeonggi Province, and by not changing his father’s colostomy bag in a timely manner. At the time, B had been using a colostomy bag for 15 years following colon cancer surgery and was unable to move on his own.

Investigations revealed that B had been left in a state where he developed bedsores, burns, and blisters all over his body, and did not receive proper medical treatment. The court pointed out, "There is a possibility that the defendant's neglect was one of the causes leading to the victim's death," emphasizing that A’s culpability is not light.

However, the court explained that it suspended the execution of the sentence in part because A’s judgment and problem-solving abilities were found to be significantly impaired at the time.