Father in His 30s Beat 3-Month-Old Son to Death After Wife Walked Out

[Financial News]  A man in his 30s who beat his 3-month-old son to death in anger after his wife left home has received a heavy prison sentence on appeal as well.
According to legal sources, the Criminal Division 1 of the Changwon Panel of the Busan High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Park Gwang-seo, dismissed the appeal filed by a man in his 30s, identified only as A, who was indicted for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse murder). The court upheld the lower court's 10-year prison sentence on the 30th.
The court also upheld the lower court's orders requiring A to complete 40 hours of a child-abuse treatment program and prohibiting him from working at child-related institutions for 10 years.
A was indicted on charges of beating his 3-month-old biological son, who was lying in a baby bed, at his home in Gimhae City, South Gyeongsang Province, at around 2 a.m. on November 24 last year, causing the child to die.
Investigators found that A had argued with his wife, B, over his drinking and financial problems on November 22, two days before the crime, after which B left home.
The following day, A dropped his biological son while bathing him in the bathroom but did not seek medical attention.
Later, citing B's departure as the reason, he invited a sex worker to his home and drank approximately four bottles of soju and 1,500 milliliters of beer with her.
After the sex worker left, A, who was heavily intoxicated, became angry over his conflict with B and the stress of an unplanned childbirth and raising a child. He then assaulted his son, investigators determined.
B returned home on the night of November 24. The next morning, after feeding the baby formula and laying him down, she discovered that he was not breathing and called 112. A's son was taken to a hospital but eventually died.
The trial court rejected A's claims that he had no intent to kill and had been in a state of diminished mental capacity because he was heavily intoxicated. It sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
A subsequently appealed, arguing that the sentence was too severe.
However, the appellate court explained its decision to dismiss the appeal, saying, "It is impossible even to imagine the suffering endured by the child victim, and A chose the victim, the most vulnerable person in the family and society, as the target of his anger." The court added, "He must be held strictly accountable under the law."
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