Woman who ate tteokbokki alone while father starved gets prison term

A woman in her 30s who withheld food from her ailing father and left him to die of malnutrition has been sentenced to prison.

Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 13, presided over by Judge Kim Ki-pung, sentenced the woman, identified only as A, 39, to three years and six months in prison on charges of abandonment of a lineal ascendant resulting in death.

A was indicted on charges of neglecting her father, identified as B, 76, at their home in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, from June last year through July 22 last year, leaving him without food or care until he died.

B was unable to eat or use the bathroom on his own, yet A did not take him to a hospital, investigators found.

She also withheld meals and banchan (side dishes) that neighbors had prepared for her father, while eating cup tteokbokki alone on a stairwell in the building.

B died on July 22 last year from an electrolyte imbalance caused by malnutrition. At the time of his death, he weighed only 34 kilograms despite standing 170 centimeters tall.

About two months before his death, on May 30 last year, B collapsed while going out to buy food and was diagnosed with general physical weakness at a nearby hospital.

The local community welfare center had registered B as a case-management client on May 13 last year and had been providing him with dosirak (packed meals) and other food.

Four days before B died, A locked the door and refused to let welfare center workers in when they visited. On the day of his death, she turned them away and shut the door, investigators found.

A had been living on monthly rent income and an old-age pension. On the very day her father died, she visited the community welfare center to apply for and receive a livelihood recovery support payment.

The court said A "had an obligation to support and protect her father, who was incapable of daily life and in need of treatment, yet neglected him for an extended period, leading to his death," adding that "the nature of the offense is extremely poor in light of the duration of the crime and its moral depravity."

The court added that A "recognized that the victim's condition was deteriorating rapidly and that treatment was necessary, and had received some support from welfare civil servants, yet left the victim without even minimal care for an extended period," and that "the victim appears to have suffered considerable pain until his death."