Child abuse and murder - where is the justice?
- 00:06:23
- YouTube
Child abuse and murder - where is the justice?
A 23-month-old baby boy (Seong-Min Lee) was beaten to death at daycare (Ul-San-City, S.Korea) owned by Chae (director) and Nam (her husband). They asserted that the baby was treated well, but he fell down from a 75-cm-high piano bench a couple of days before his death. Kyung-Ju police officers investigated the case based on their claim. Postmortem examination revealed that the direct cause of his death was peritonitis due to intestinal transection. Medical Examiner's Office reported child abuse is strongly suspected from the existence of multiple bruises of various stages over his body, tear in the roof of his mouth, and defense injuries. Although peritonitis can be cured if it is treated promptly, Chae and Nam did not take the baby to the hospital to conceal their crime, and put him in agony for 2-3 days and eventually death. Despite the medical and strong circumstantial evidences supporting child abuse and murder, the judge (Chae-Hae Kim, Kyung-Ju Prosecutor's Office) dismissed their charges on the ground of insufficient evidence. Chae was sentenced to only a misdemeanor on neglect of duty with 1-year-in-jail and Nam received a 2-year-probation. The general public of S. Korea was outraged over the verdict and calls for a thorough investigation into the death of the 23-month-old baby boy. More than 10,000 people registered as a member of the website (http://cafe.daum.net/cherub23) to support the bereaved family and advocate for child health and safety in S. Korea.
YouTube | February 20, 2008
