SEOUL– An appeals court sentenced a man to 20 years in prison Friday for beating his six-year-old live-in niece, resulting in her death from cerebral hemorrhage, reducing a lower court’s sentence on grounds that he did not intend to kill her.
Last year, the 40-year-old uncle and his 31-year-old wife, both surnamed Kim, were both sentenced to 25 years in prison by a lower court on charges of murder for beating the niece to death at their home in Incheon, west of Seoul, in August 2020.
The couple began to raise the victim along with their two children in April of that year and since abused her for being picky with food or throwing up. The victim had 16 of her ribs broken from the abuse, according to court records.
On Friday, however, the Seoul High Court reduced their sentences to 20 years in prison for the uncle and five years in prison for his wife on conviction of child abuse resulting in death, rather than murder, saying the couple did not intend to kill her.
“It is difficult to conclude that the defendants neglected the victim with the knowledge that she would die based solely on the fact that they did not take her to the hospital,” the high court said, noting they applied an anti-inflammatory ointment to the victim’s body.
The victim also showed no signs of serious sickness for about 9 to 10 hours after the abuse until she collapsed after vomiting on the day of her death, the court added.
The court said it also took into consideration that the man inadvertently caused the girl’s death, while his wife did not take part in the physical abuse and was suffering extreme stress from raising three children, including her own and her niece.
“We feel bad thinking of the pain the victim must have suffered and the fact the victim, who was healthy before, died just four months after she started living with her uncle and aunt,” the court said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency