20-Year-Old Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Shaking 4-Month-Old Baby to Death After Crying

Court. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Min Jun-young Intern Reporter] A man in his 20s was sentenced to four years in prison for violently shaking a baby under four months old to death.

The Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court, 1st Criminal Division (Chief Judge Chae Dae-won), announced on the 18th that A (26), who was tried for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse resulting in death), was sentenced to four years in prison.

The court also ordered A to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program and imposed a five-year employment restriction at child-related institutions.

The court stated, "The victim, only 110 days old, was left with a stranger without parents and spent a long time together, and the victim's only way to express anxiety and discomfort was crying," adding, "The defendant violently shook the victim to death simply because the crying did not stop."

Furthermore, the court explained, "The defendant has shown remorse for the crime and does not appear to have had a planned intent to abuse," and "It seems the abuse was due to frustration or impulsiveness as the time spent caring for the victim was longer than expected."

Earlier, on March 14, A was taking care of a 110-day-old baby at a house in Cheonan at the request of an acquaintance. When the baby woke up crying, he fed the baby formula.

However, when the crying did not stop, he became angry and shook the baby's neck back and forth three times within five hours, causing brain damage that led to the baby's death, and was brought to trial on charges of causing death by abuse.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.