Woman sentenced to 10 yrs in prison for throwing newborn to death in S. Korea
The 24-year-old woman was accused of throwing her baby boy on the ground twice at her home in Incheon, just west of Seoul, and leaving him unaided for three hours on April 26, resulting in the baby's death.
The newborn, known to have been 40 days old, died from a skull fracture and cerebral hemorrhage, according to autopsy results.
The Incheon District Court handed out the 10-year prison term to her on charges of child abuse and murder, recognizing that the woman abused and killed the young victim who was entirely dependent on her to live. The court said the difficulties she faced raising the baby alone were not severe enough to warrant murder.
The court dismissed the woman's claims that she committed the crime in the state of mental vulnerability under postpartum depression.
The court also ordered her to go under 80 hours of child abuse treatment programs and prohibited her from working at child-related facilities for 10 years.
The prosecution had earlier demanded a 30-year sentence for the defendant, citing the seriousness of the crime.
During police questioning, the intellectually challenged mother said she did not take the baby to the hospital because she thought he would be okay even though she knew he was short of breath.
The husband had claimed he was outside at the time of the incident and had not been aware of his wife dropping the baby. Police did not raise charges against the husband.
