National Forensic Service:
"Presumed Cause of Death is Asphyxiation Due to Airway Obstruction"
A homeroom teacher has been booked by the police in connection with the death of an 18-month-old infant who choked on a foreign object at a daycare center in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.
On June 2, Gimpo Police Station announced that teacher A from the daycare center has been booked without detention on charges of involuntary manslaughter due to occupational negligence.
According to the police, on May 22 at around 3:10 p.m., teacher A gave rice cake to a two-year-old boy, B, at a daycare center in Gimpo. B choked on the rice cake and died.
It was found that just before the incident, teacher A had cut up a type of rice cake called Baekseolgi and distributed it to B and other children at the daycare center.
When the emergency occurred, staff members at the daycare center performed the Heimlich maneuver, but B lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Heimlich maneuver is a first aid procedure that applies strong pressure to the chest to expel food or foreign objects blocking the airway and causing a risk of suffocation.
After conducting an autopsy on B's body, the National Forensic Service delivered a preliminary verbal opinion to the police, stating that the cause of death is presumed to be asphyxiation due to airway obstruction.
A police official stated, "We plan to closely investigate the causal relationship between teacher A's actions and B's death."
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