Daughter Gets Prison Sentence After Bedridden Father Weighing 34kg Dies of Starvation

A woman in her 30s has been sentenced to prison for neglecting her ailing father and causing him to die of malnutrition.

Incheon District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Kim Gi-pung) announced on October 20 that it has sentenced a 39-year-old woman, surnamed A, to three years and six months in prison on charges of abandonment of an ascendant resulting in death.

A was put on trial for leaving her 76-year-old father, B, unattended without providing meals or care at their home in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, from June until July 22 of last year, leading to his death.

Investigations revealed that while B was unable to eat or use the restroom on his own, A did not take her father to the hospital.

While neglecting B and failing to give him the rice and side dishes prepared by neighbors, A was even found to have eaten cup tteokbokki alone on the building stairs.

Ultimately, B died around 6:37 PM on July 22 of last year due to electrolyte imbalance caused by severe malnutrition.

At the time of his death, B stood 170 centimeters tall but weighed only 34 kilograms.

The investigation showed that on May 30 of last year, B had ventured outside to buy food before collapsing, leading to a diagnosis of general weakness at a nearby hospital.

The local administrative welfare center had registered B as a case-management recipient on May 13 of last year, providing him with lunchboxes and food items.

However, when welfare center staff visited four days prior to his death, A kept the door locked and refused to let them in, and even turned them away and shut the door on the day he died.

Living off monthly rent and a basic old-age pension, A visited the administrative welfare center to apply for and receive the first livelihood recovery support fund even on the day her father passed away.

The court stated that despite having the duty to support and protect her father—who was incapable of daily life and in need of medical treatment—the defendant abandoned him for a long period, leading to his death, and that the nature of the crime is very grave given its duration and its unfilial nature.

The court added in its sentencing rationale that although the victim's condition deteriorated rapidly so that the need for treatment was recognized and some support was received from welfare officials, A abandoned the victim for a long period without minimal care, and the victim likely suffered considerable pain until his death.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.