A man in his 30s in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, has been sentenced to prison for bringing a sex worker to his home, drinking, and fatally assaulting his three-month-old son.
The Changwon District Court sentenced the man in his 30s, surnamed Kim, to 10 years in prison last June on charges of child abuse murder.
The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program and restricted him from employment at child-related institutions for 10 years.
Kim was indicted on charges of fatally assaulting the victim, referred to as A, who was lying in a baby crib at his residence in Gimhae around 2:00 AM in November of last year, by striking him in the head four times with both palms.
Kim committed the crime in a state of extreme intoxication after calling a sex worker to his home to drink following an argument with his wife—who left home due to conflicts over his drinking and financial issues.
The day after Kim's crime, his wife returned home, discovered that child A was not breathing, and rushed him to the hospital, but child A ultimately died from skull fractures and cerebral hemorrhage.
Investigations showed that Kim committed the crime out of anger over having to care for child A alone and his wife's opposition to his drinking.
During the trial, Kim claimed that he had no intention to kill and that he was in a state of diminished mental capacity due to alcohol consumption at the time of the crime, but the court did not accept these arguments.
Based on Kim's statements during the investigative agency's probe—where he admitted to hitting the child with enough force driven by anger that it could cause brain injury or a skull fracture—the court determined that he had at least latent intent to kill.
The court stated the reasoning for the sentencing: "Given the circumstances and methods of the crime, it is anti-social, and showing no remorse by denying the intent to murder, it is appropriate to isolate him from society for a long period."
However, the court explained, "We considered factors such as the fact that he acknowledges the criminal acts, and that it occurred while he was raising the child alone after his spouse, a co-parent, left home, making it somewhat harsh to place the blame entirely on the defendant."
Kim has appealed the first-instance sentence.
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by E:U | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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