Cheonan Pastor Referred to Prosecution for 11-Year-Old’s Death by Abuse... Evidence of 41°C Fever and 30-Hour Restraint

Grandmother Also Under Investigation in Custody
Additional Charges Under Review Pending Autopsy Results

A man in his 60s, Pastor A, has been handed over to the prosecution in custody on charges of child abuse resulting in death, after allegedly abusing an 11-year-old boy at a church in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, leading to the child's death. The child, referred to as B, was reportedly tied to a bed and abused for about 30 hours before passing away.

Chungnam Provincial Police Agency building. Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB

According to the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency on the 14th, Pastor A was detained and sent to the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

According to data submitted by the National Fire Agency to the office of Park Junghyun, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, when the 119 emergency team arrived at the scene, there were signs of binding and bruises on both of B’s wrists and ankles. The police are investigating under the belief that B was tied to a bed for about 30 hours.

B, who has an intellectual disability, had lived at the church since birth, but recently began living with his maternal grandmother. Earlier this year in March, B was exempted from school attendance at the request of his legal guardian, the grandmother, and since then had been living mainly around the church.

Before his death, B reportedly came forward to law enforcement for two consecutive days, reporting abuse and saying, "I was beaten by my grandmother." However, the police and the Cheonan city government did not immediately separate B from his grandmother, citing his psychological state and the living conditions at the facility. The court also dismissed a request for a temporary restraining order against the grandmother, stating that "no necessity was recognized."

Later, B was found with a body temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius and in a semi-conscious state. Although B was in critical condition with an oxygen saturation level that had dropped to 89% when the emergency team arrived, he had to wait at the scene for more than an hour because a hospital that could admit him could not be found immediately. B died about three hours after being transported to a hospital.

Meanwhile, the police plan to refer the grandmother, who was arrested on the 11th, to the prosecution next week after concluding the investigation. They are also considering additional charges against her depending on the results of B's autopsy.

A police official stated, "Once the investigation is complete, we will form an inspection team led by the head of the Life Safety Division to thoroughly examine all issues and areas for improvement regarding protective measures and ensure that such a case does not happen again."

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