[Exclusive] Suspected Abuse Report of 5-Year-Old Child at Suwon Municipal Daycare... Police Investigating

"5-Year-Old Child Left in Bathroom" Suspected Abuse Report
Police Securing and Analyzing CCTV
Daycare: "Absolutely Not Abuse... Thought Child Went to Bathroom and Returned"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police have launched an investigation after a report was received alleging suspected abuse of a 5-year-old child who was left unattended in a bathroom for several tens of minutes at a daycare center.

The Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency announced on the 7th that they received a report on the 24th of last month regarding child abuse at a public daycare center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and are currently verifying the facts.

At this daycare center, on the 22nd of last month at around 3:24 PM, a 5-year-old child, referred to as A, was left trapped in a bathroom toilet stall for about 30 minutes. The child's parents learned of this through the daycare center and reportedly filed a suspected abuse report with the police.

The police have secured CCTV footage from the daycare center and are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident. Once the CCTV analysis is complete, they plan to summon and question those involved. No one has been formally charged in connection with this case yet. The daycare center reportedly claims that they were unaware that A was left in the toilet stall.

The police intend to investigate whether the homeroom teacher and others truly did not realize that A was trapped, as well as to check for any other signs of abuse. Even if there was no intent, if it is found that the responsibility to protect the child was neglected, charges such as neglect under the Child Welfare Act may be applied.

The daycare center admits that the child was left unattended but firmly denies any abuse. A representative of the daycare center stated, "At the time, the homeroom teacher thought A had come out of the bathroom and returned to the classroom," adding, "There was no lock on the bathroom door, and teachers and children frequently entered and exited the bathroom even while A was in the toilet stall." They also explained, "After discovering the child belatedly, the homeroom teacher and several other teachers comforted and held the child," and emphasized, "There was absolutely no intentional situation, and after this incident, we are discussing measures to prevent recurrence, such as installing an emergency bell in the bathroom."

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