Father Who Killed Newborn While Shouting "Stop Crying"... Supreme Court Finalizes 10-Year Prison Sentence

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A man in his 30s has received a finalized sentence of 10 years in prison for habitually abusing and killing his biological baby, who was less than one month old, because the child was crying and fussy.

According to the legal community on February 3, the Second Division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) upheld the lower court ruling that sentenced the father, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse resulting in death) and child abuse, to 10 years in prison.

The defendant was accused of physically abusing the newborn baby at his residence in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, in January last year, by lifting the baby up with both hands and shaking the child violently and hitting the baby's face when the baby would not stop crying. In particular, on January 30 of the same year, he shouted, "I can't sleep because of you," and pressed the baby's head forcefully for one minute to the point that the baby could not breathe and the face turned red, ultimately causing the baby to die from traumatic brain hemorrhage and rib fractures.

It was also found that after the victim died, he induced his wife to give false statements and sold the home camera, which may have contained footage of the crime, on the secondhand market.

The court of first instance sentenced the man in his 30s to 10 years in prison, ordered him to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program, and imposed a 10-year employment restriction. The appellate court also dismissed the father's appeal, stating that "the sentence imposed by the lower court cannot be considered unjust."

The Supreme Court likewise ruled, "In light of various sentencing factors such as the defendant's age, character, environment, relationship with the victim, and circumstances after the crime, it cannot be said that the lower court's decision to uphold the first-instance sentence of 10 years in prison is grossly unjust."

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