Father Arrested After Leaving 17-Month-Old Daughter Alone While at Work; Child Dies

[Anchor]

A 17-month-old girl was found in a state of cardiac arrest in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and was rushed to the hospital, but ultimately passed away. Police have arrested the father on charges of leaving his young daughter home alone and failing to feed her properly for about 10 days while he went to work.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Around 10 p.m. on the 28th, in front of a residence in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

Several ambulances and police cars are parked at the scene.

Emergency responders were dispatched following a report from the child's father stating that his 17-month-old daughter was not breathing.

The child was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest and eventually died.

While no external physical injuries were found, the child was severely emaciated, and the National Forensic Service provided a verbal opinion that the autopsy results point to malnutrition.

Investigations revealed that the father of the deceased child went to work for about 10 days without properly feeding her.

Confirming circumstances of neglect, the police arrested the biological father, a man in his 30s identified as A, on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

[Mr. A: (Didn't you realize the child could die?) I am sorry.]

Mr. A reportedly stated to the police, "My wife left the house earlier this month, and with no one to look after her, I left the child alone and went to work."

Investigations also showed that for the past 10 days or so, Mr. A fed his daughter formula only twice a day—once before leaving for work and once after returning.

Police determined that the child was neglected, as a 17-month-old is typically expected to be weaned off formula and eating solid baby food.

The local government jurisdiction stated that Mr. A had no prior reports filed against him for child abuse and was not a recipient of basic livelihood security benefits.

[Resident: I had no idea there was a child in that household because I never once saw anyone out with a baby. There was a time when they (the couple) had a fight, and I woke up because I was sleeping at home. They were fighting so fiercely...]

Police are conducting a forensic analysis of Mr. A's mobile phone while continuing to investigate him regarding the reasons why he failed to properly care for the child.

(Video Journalist: Lee Joon-young, Noh Jae-min | Video Editing: Kim Jong-mi)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.