Father of 9-Year-Old Child Found Dead Trapped in Travel Bag Also Booked on Abuse Charges...

Published 12 Jun.2020 14:31(KST)

The stepmother who confined her stepson in a travel bag, causing his death, is entering the Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court on the 3rd for a warrant hearing. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] The biological father of a 9-year-old boy who was confined in a travel suitcase for over 7 hours by his stepmother and died has been booked as a suspect by the police.

The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 12th that they have booked Mr. A, a man in his 40s, without detention on charges of child abuse and are investigating.

Mr. A is suspected of abusing his son, including beating him, from last year until recently.

The police are also investigating whether Mr. A knowingly aided and abetted his cohabiting partner’s crime related to the child being trapped in the travel suitcase and dying.

Meanwhile, it is known that the victim child weighed only 23 kg at the time of death.

The victim child also received hospital treatment for a head injury on Children’s Day, May 5th.

Medical staff who found signs of abuse on the child’s body at that time reported it to the police.

According to the police investigation, there were old bruises and wounds all over the child’s body, and there was a burn mark on the thigh that appeared to be from a cigarette, raising suspicion of habitual assault.

The victim child was found in a state of cardiac arrest inside a travel suitcase measuring 44 cm wide and 60 cm long at their home in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan City, at around 7:25 p.m. on the 1st.

The child was taken to the hospital but did not regain consciousness and died at around 6:30 p.m. two days later on the 3rd.

Police investigations revealed that Mr. A’s cohabiting partner, Ms. B (43), had confined the victim child in the suitcase and went out for three hours.