"Three-Year-Old Unconscious After Loud Thud"...Parents Urgently Arrested as Police Investigate Child Abuse Allegations

Three-Year-Old in Critical Condition after Convulsions in Yangju

In Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, a three-year-old child was transported to a hospital in an unconscious state and underwent surgery, prompting police to launch an investigation into the possibility of child abuse.

According to Yonhap News Agency on April 10, police and fire authorities received a report at around 6:44 p.m. the previous day that "a baby is crying and having convulsions" at a home in Okjeong-dong, Yangju. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they found that the child, referred to as "A," was breathing on his own but was unconscious, and he was immediately transferred to a hospital in Uijeongbu. During the transfer, bruising was observed on his jaw, but no apparent head trauma was identified at the time.

The guardian reportedly told firefighters, "I heard a loud thud, and when I checked, the child was having convulsions."

However, at around 9:30 p.m. the same day, hospital staff reported the case to the police, citing suspicions of child abuse. Medical personnel also identified a head injury on the child. Although "A" underwent brain surgery, as of this report he remains in critical condition and has not regained consciousness.

Based on the medical staff's opinion, the guardian's statements, and previous police reports, authorities determined there were grounds for suspicion of child abuse. At around 11 p.m. the previous day, both parents—father and mother, both in their twenties—were urgently arrested in the emergency room.

Given the gravity of the case, the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency took over the investigation directly from the Yangju Police Station. Police are thoroughly investigating the circumstances of the alleged abuse by questioning the parents, while closely monitoring the child's medical progress. According to police, there had been a previous report of suspected child abuse involving the father in December of last year, but that case did not result in prosecution.

A police official stated, "Taking into account all the circumstances confirmed so far and the child's condition, the mother was released in the early morning," adding, "The specific details of the incident, including whether child abuse occurred, are still under investigation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.