"‘It Was Ice Play’ - Childcare Teacher Fined 10 Million Won for Putting Ice in Clothes of 15-Month-Old Baby"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] A childcare teacher was fined for putting ice cubes inside the clothes of a 15-month-old baby. The teacher appealed the first trial verdict, claiming it was "just ice play."

On the 28th, Chief Judge Seo Geun-chan of the Jeju District Court Criminal Division 4 announced that childcare teacher A (40), who was tried for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, was sentenced to a fine of 10 million won.

In July 2018, A put one ice cube twice inside the clothes of a 15-month-old child at a daycare center in Seogwipo City. The court found credible the testimony of fellow childcare teachers and kitchen staff who saw A putting ice cubes inside the child's clothes to avoid detection, and judged A's actions as child abuse.

The court stated, "Children have greater protection value than adults for complete and harmonious personality development," and "the concept of abuse under the Child Welfare Act should be interpreted more broadly than the concept of abuse under the Criminal Act."

Regarding this, A claimed, "Contrary to the prosecution's allegations, I never put ice cubes inside the child's clothes; I only put in ice pieces about 5mm in size as part of ice play."

However, the court explained the sentencing reason, saying, "There was no ice-related play in the class, and considering that the child was crying and yet ice was put in again, it can at least hinder the child's physical and mental development and also cause harm to the child's parents, which makes the guilt heavy."

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