'Aunt and Uncle Arrested and Indicted for Fatal Water Torture Abuse of 10-Year-Old Nephew'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] An aunt and uncle accused of abusing their 10-year-old niece to death have been brought to trial while in custody.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's Women and Children Crime Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Kim Won-ho) announced on the 7th that they had indicted B (34) and C (33), the aunt and uncle of the deceased 10-year-old girl A, on charges including murder and child abuse under the Child Welfare Act on the 5th.

The couple, B and C, are accused of tying the hands and feet of A, whom they were taking care of, with a clothesline and plastic in the bathroom of an apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 8th of last month, preventing her from moving, and repeatedly submerging her head in the bathtub for over 30 minutes, causing her death. It was also investigated that they committed similar cruel acts on January 24.

The couple was also found to have beaten A violently with a plastic fly swatter and other objects before the abuse on the day of her death. The day before her death, A was assaulted for about four hours. The prosecution has determined that from the end of December last year until A’s death, such abuse, including physical assault, occurred a total of 14 times.

On January 20 of this year, B and C also forced A to lick the feces of a dog they were raising. They recorded the abuse multiple times in photos and videos, which the investigative authorities secured as evidence.

Initially, the couple stated that the motive for the crime was because "the niece did not listen and could not control her urination and defecation," but the prosecution believes that B, who is a shaman, strongly believed that A was possessed by a ghost, which was a major factor in these acts.

The cause of A’s death was determined by the National Forensic Service autopsy to be secondary shock and drowning. Secondary shock refers to a state of oxygen deficiency in tissues following trauma or other primary causes, leading to respiratory distress. The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on A’s body also expressed the same opinion in the initial findings. The final results from the National Forensic Service added drowning as water and blisters were found in A’s airways.

The prosecution is also investigating A’s biological mother, D, who was referred to the prosecution on charges of neglect under the Child Welfare Act for failing to protect her daughter despite knowing that B and C were abusing her.

The prosecution has determined that D received peach tree branches from her sister B, who told her that A seemed possessed by a ghost, to use for exorcism. While continuing the investigation into D, the prosecution is also reviewing various support measures such as psychological treatment for A’s bereaved family.

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