Police Apply Arrest Warrant for Mother in '16-Month-Old Infant Death' Case... Charged with Child Abuse Resulting in Death

Jang Ha-yeon, Chief of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, "All Alleged Abuse Cases Subject to Investigation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The cause of death of a 16-month-old child found with bruises all over the body was revealed to be 'abdominal injury caused by external force,' and the police have applied for an arrest warrant for the stepmother.

On the 9th, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant for the child's stepmother, Ms. A, on charges of child abuse resulting in death.

The Yangcheon Police Station received the detailed autopsy results of Ms. A from the National Forensic Service on the 3rd, and based on this, applied for an arrest warrant for Ms. A on the 4th. After the prosecution ordered additional investigation, they reapplied for the arrest warrant on the 6th.

Earlier, on the 13th of last month, Ms. A was found dead at a hospital in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. When she was brought to the hospital, she had severe injuries to her abdomen and brain. A hospital official who saw this suspected child abuse and reported it to the police.

Ms. A was adopted by her current parents in January. Since then, there were three reports of child abuse, but each time, the police and child protection agencies failed to find evidence of abuse and returned Ms. A to her parents.

Following criticism that the police response was lax, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "We have formed an inspection team to verify whether the previous three reports were handled according to regulations, and the Yangcheon Police Station will thoroughly reinvestigate this death case and the previous reports."

Jang Ha-yeon, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, also explained at a press conference held on the 9th, “Since there is ultimately evidence of criminal charges, we disregarded all previous investigations and started a new investigation from zero base,” adding, “There is room for improvement in internal procedures such as on-site manuals, which we are carefully reviewing.”

Meanwhile, after the controversy arose, the police registered Ms. A’s parents as suspects and summoned them several times to investigate whether there was any abuse such as assault before the death.

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