Sister's testimony reveals stepmother force-fed spicy food to toddler who died of capsaicin poisoning

As police closed a case involving the death of a 44-month-old girl from capsaicin poisoning without filing charges, testimony has emerged that the stepmother also force-fed spicy food to the deceased child's older sister during episodes of abuse.

According to a referral decision document from Seoul's Seongbuk Police Station obtained Wednesday by the victim's family through a public records request, police referred the stepmother to prosecutors in December last year on child abuse charges — specifically for allegedly abusing the older sister over a five-year period.

In a written statement, the older sister said the stepmother "gave me tteokbokki, and if I said it was too spicy and I couldn't eat it, she would hit me." Of another form of abuse, the child said: "What I remember most is my (step)mother pressing painfully between my fingernails and skin with her own fingernail."

The sister also testified that she personally witnessed the stepmother feeding spicy food to the younger child who died in 2019. "My mother and my younger sibling were alone in the kitchen, and I watched from the bedroom," she said. "My sibling was struggling and in pain."

An autopsy conducted at the time detected capsaicin in the deceased child's blood. The National Forensic Service said it had doubts about whether "the child could have consumed such a significant amount on her own," declining to rule out the possibility of abuse. Nevertheless, police closed the internal inquiry twice — in October of that year and again in April — citing a lack of physical evidence of third-party involvement.

The alleged abuse of the older sister extended further. According to the statement, the stepmother beat the child all over her body in January 2024 after a fast-food restaurant coupon had an insufficient balance, breaking one of her teeth in the process. "My (step)mother picked up the broken tooth, placed it in the toilet and flushed it," the child said. "I didn't go to the hospital right away — about 10 days passed before I went to a dental clinic near our home for treatment." The children's biological father was in the Philippines at the time.

Police plan to introduce a new "women and youth cases subcommittee" within their investigation review committee next month. The death of the 44-month-old girl could become the first case the subcommittee takes up.