Father who beat 3-month-old son to death while drunk with sex worker gets 10 years

A man in his 30s has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for beating his 3-month-old son to death after inviting a sex worker to his home and drinking heavily while his wife was away.

The Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Judge Kim Sung-hwan, sentenced the man, identified only as A, on June 11 on charges of child abuse homicide under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.

The court also ordered A to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program and barred him from working at child-related institutions for 10 years.

A was indicted on charges of assaulting his infant son at their home in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last November, causing skull fractures and other injuries that proved fatal.

Investigators found that A had called a sex worker to his home after his wife, identified as B, left. He then drank four bottles of soju and draft beer with the woman before committing the assault while heavily intoxicated.

Investigators determined that A, while drunk, had lashed out at the baby in his crib out of anger over marital discord with B and the stress of an unplanned pregnancy and child-rearing.

B returned home that night and fed the baby formula the following morning before laying him down, only to find the infant had lost consciousness. She called 112, the police emergency line, and the child was rushed to a hospital but did not survive.

During the trial, A claimed he had no intent to kill and that he had been in a state of diminished mental capacity, but the court rejected both arguments.

"The victim, who was only 3 months old, was completely neglected by his parents and died a short life in agony — including skull fractures and hemorrhaging — that even an adult would find unimaginable," the court said. "In light of the circumstances, means, methods and consequences of the crime, A's inhumanity is difficult to forgive."

The court added that A "continues to deny intent to kill and shows no sincere sign of remorse," and ruled that "it is only right that he spend a long period isolated from society, living in genuine repentance and with a heart of atonement toward the child he harmed."