"Child's Father Assaults 5-Year-Old Son Claiming Religious Ritual"…Distinct 'Bruises' on Abdomen

"Chest and Abdomen Covered with Bruises" Biological Mother’s Cheong Petition
"Child Victim Shows Separation Anxiety Symptoms"
"Please Thoroughly Investigate Those Obsessed with Cults and Superstitions"

The child's body parts posted by an acquaintance of the biological mother of the victim child on an online community. Red bruises formed from the abdomen to the chest area. / Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A shocking claim has been raised that a biological father brutally assaulted his 5-year-old child until bruises appeared, allegedly under the pretext of performing a 'religious ritual.'

On the 9th, a petition titled "Brutally assaulted a 5-year-old child under the pretext of performing a religious ritual" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner, A, who identified herself as the mother of the victimized child, stated, "The child's father conspired in advance with his in-law family, lied to me, the biological mother, and took the child to a temple where, under the leadership of the child's great aunt, they performed a religious ritual and assaulted the 5-year-old child." She added, "That temple is not a regular temple but an illegal building located in a residential villa."

She continued, "Recently, (my husband and I) visited the temple frequently, and knowing it was not an ordinary place, I worried that something might happen to the child. Although I was heavily pregnant and wanted to visit the place, the address was untraceable, making it difficult to find peace due to fears for the child's safety," she lamented.

She further explained, "Unable to just wait at home, I took a taxi with my heavily pregnant body, and with the driver's help and a map, I arrived near the temple within an hour. I picked up the child who was lying face down in one corner of the prayer hall, shook off the hand of the eldest sister-in-law who tried to stop me, and brought the child home," she described.

Petition post by A, the biological mother of the victim child, uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board / Photo by National Petition Board capture

A said, "When I tried to wash the child and took off their clothes, their chest and abdomen were covered with red bruises," adding, "When I asked why, the child cried and said, 'The great aunt told me to lie down and kept hitting me with her fists, it hurt so much, and I cried tears, but Dad held my hands together.'"

In relation to this, a netizen who claimed to be an acquaintance of the petitioner posted photos of the victim child's body on an online community. The photos show red bruises extending from the child's abdomen to the chest area.

According to A, the child explained the assault situation by saying, "A monk nearby was striking a wooden percussion instrument and singing, and the little aunt was also watching (the situation)."

Regarding this, A stated, "The child's father and great aunt brutally assaulted the 5-year-old child under the pretext of performing a religious ritual, and the child was diagnosed with a two-week recovery period. Unlike before, the child is showing separation anxiety symptoms, being very anxious when apart from me, the mother. The child suddenly wakes up crying loudly at night and has started wetting the bed, which did not happen before," reporting on the child's mental health condition.

She urged, "Children have the right to be healthy and safe. I hope that these terrible child abuse cases will never be repeated, and that those obsessed with cults and superstitions will be thoroughly investigated and strongly punished."

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