[Anchor]

Following the death of an 11-year-old child at a church in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, the boy's maternal grandmother has been arrested, following the earlier arrest of the church pastor. Despite a series of suspected abuse reports, authorities failed to prevent the tragedy.

TJB Reporter Oh In-gyun has the story.

[Reporter]

A woman in her 50s wearing a mask walks out under the guidance of a court official.

She is the maternal grandmother of 11-year-old boy A, who passed away after showing symptoms of impaired consciousness at a Cheonan church on the 5th.

The court issued an arrest warrant for the grandmother, who is accused of abusing boy A to death, citing concerns that she might flee.

[(Do you have anything to say to the deceased child?) (...) (Why was the child tied up at the church?) (...) ]

Meanwhile, controversy is growing over the response of relevant authorities as boy A failed to receive proper protection despite repeated suspected abuse reports prior to his death.

Four days before his death, in the early morning, boy A is seen crossing a road alone and entering a convenience store.

A customer who was there took boy A to a police station.

[Convenience Store Employee: He came into the store wearing a sleeveless shirt and greeted me, and at that time, he had a bruise under his eye.]

Police and city officials discussed placing him in a protective facility, but sent him back to the church on the grounds that boy A did not wish to go.

The next day, boy A was found outside the church by a citizen.

On the 3rd, boy A visited a local police box with a citizen and filed a suspected child abuse report.

Police requested the court for a separation order, but it was dismissed, and boy A had to return to the church where his maternal grandmother was.

Eventually, on the very day the court dismissed the separation order, boy A showed abnormal symptoms at the church and died.

Police are investigating whether additional abuse took place right up until the incident while focusing their investigative efforts on determining the exact cause of death.

(Video by: Kim Gyeong-han TJB | Design: Park Bo-young TJB)

TJB Oh In-gyun