A mother in her 30s has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for abandoning her newborn son, who died as a result.
According to Yonhap News on October 8, the Daegu High Court's Criminal Division 1-2, presided over by Judge Wang Hae-jin, dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendant's appeals in the case involving the mother, identified as A.
The first trial court had sentenced A to three years and six months in prison, along with a requirement to complete 40 hours of child abuse treatment programs and a five-year ban on employment in child-related institutions.
A is accused of abandoning her son in a rubber basin in a backyard garden behind a house on Industrial Road in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the day after giving birth at a maternity hospital in Ulsan on January 9.
The crime came to light after a resident discovered the baby on February 21 and reported it.
The appellate court noted, “The baby was abandoned by the defendant, his mother, just one day after birth, and tragically died after shivering in sub-zero temperatures while crying throughout the night.” It emphasized the severity of the case.
The court also mentioned that citizens from across the country submitted petitions urging for a harsh punishment for the defendant.
However, the court found no circumstances that warranted a change in the original sentence. It stated, “After a detailed review of the records, it appears that the original trial court carefully considered both favorable and unfavorable sentencing conditions before reaching its decision,” and added, “We do not accept the claims of both the defendant and the prosecution regarding the appropriateness of the sentence.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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