Last month, a mother in her twenties left her two-year-old child alone for more than 60 hours until the child died due to malnutrition. The indictment revealed that similar neglect had occurred for a year. The child was found not breathing on the 2nd of last month, and upon investigation, it was discovered that the mother had left the house for two nights and three days, which resulted in the child’s death. The mother had a history of neglecting the child, with the house being empty 60 times since January of the previous year for a total of 544 hours. The child was left unattended even following her boyfriend arrived, resulting in 18 cases of abandonment for more than ten hours, and six days of neglect for more than a day. The prosecution charged the mother with child abuse and murder on the 27th of last month, attributing the child’s death to long-term neglect. Additionally, charges were filed for habitual neglect, such as never having an infant checkup and neglecting basic vaccinations. The woman’s first trial is set for the 18th of next month. This is Jang Seul-gi reporting for MBC News.
◀ Anchor ▶
You may remember the incident last month when a mother in her 20s left her two-year-old child alone for over 60 hours to die.
As a result of obtaining and checking the indictment, it was confirmed that this mother neglected her child from time to time for a year.
This is reporter Jang Seul-gi.
◀ Report ▶
Early in the morning of the 2nd of last month.
A report has been filed that a two-year-old child is not breathing.
When rescuers arrived at the house, the child was already dead.
As a result of the investigation, the mother in her 20s left the house alone for two nights and three days, leaving the child alone and causing the child to die due to malnutrition.
[숨진 아이 엄마 (지난 2월 4일)]
″I am very sorry. <어떤 부분이 미안하세요? 사흘 동안 집 비우면 잘못될 거라는 생각 못했나요?>″
But this wasn’t the first time the mother had neglected her child.
According to the prosecution’s indictment, since January of last year, the house has been empty 60 times, a whopping 544 hours.
At the end of January last year, when the child’s father ran away, he left his 8-month-old child alone and spent 50 minutes in a PC room near the house. It turns out that the child was left unattended.
In particular, following November, when I had a boyfriend, there were 18 cases where I left the child alone for more than 10 hours, such as going on a trip to Sokcho, and there were 6 days when I was away for more than a day.
The dead child was alone all night on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Then, in February, I returned home following three days and found a dead child.
A bowl of rice wrapped in seaweed was all next to the 20-month-old child.
On the 27th of last month, the prosecution arrested and charged the woman with child abuse and murder, not child abuse.
It was said that the child was severely underdeveloped and undernourished due to long-term neglect, and it was judged that he was aware of the danger that the child might die if left unattended for several days.
In addition, charges were also applied for habitual neglect, such as never having an infant checkup and neglecting basic vaccinations.
The woman’s first trial will be held on the 18th of next month.
This is Jang Seul-gi from MBC News.
This tragic incident serves as a reminder of the importance of parental responsibility and the dire consequences of neglect. The death of this innocent child was the result of repeated acts of negligence and disregard for their well-being. We must work as a society to educate and support parents to ensure that every child receives the care and protection they deserve. Our thoughts go out to the family and loved ones of the child, and we hope that justice will be served for their untimely and preventable death.