Forced Feeding Leads to Dementia Patient's Suffocation Death... Caregiver Found Guilty of 'Negligent Homicide' at Work

A care worker was found guilty after causing the suffocation death of a dementia patient in their 70s by force-feeding them at a nursing home.

On the 11th, Judge Kim Tae-hwan of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 16 announced that former care worker A (63), who was charged with involuntary manslaughter, was sentenced to four months in prison with a one-year probation.

A was prosecuted for forcibly feeding rice and food to B (79 at the time of death), who suffered from dementia, at a nursing home in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, in January last year, resulting in B’s suffocation and death.

It was investigated that A pushed rice and food into B’s mouth about 10 times within one minute at a very fast pace. B was unable to swallow properly with their mouth full of food, and about 40 minutes later, the airway was blocked by the food, causing suffocation and death.

The court stated, "The defendant’s professional negligence caused the victim’s death, which is a serious offense. However, considering the circumstances of the incident, the victim’s family’s wish not to punish the defendant, and the fact that this is the defendant’s first offense with no prior criminal record," explaining the reasons for the sentencing.

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