Mother given suspended sentence after baby's death

[SHUTTERSTOCK]

The mother of an eight-month-old infant who died while the mother was out of the house was given a suspended sentence after the court blamed society for “failing to protect socially vulnerable groups.”

The poverty-stricken mother was engaging in sex work to make ends meet at the time of the baby’s death.

According to police, the baby suffocated on May 21 last year after a cushion on the baby’s chest to hold a baby bottle moved and blocked the baby’s face, preventing him from breathing.

This happened just two hours after the mother left home.

The baby’s mother, a woman in her 30s, became a single mother when she gave birth last year.

She cut ties with her family during her pregnancy when they asked her to have an abortion.

With no financial support from her family, the mother raised the baby entirely on her own.

Unemployed, she received around 1.37 million won ($1,040) from the government in both basic livelihood security support and subsidies for single parents, but this was insufficient to pay for expenses, including rent and insurance.

The money the government provided was slightly higher than the minimum living cost of a two-person household in 2022, 978,026 won, as announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The baby’s mother had to pay monthly rent of 270,000 won and was unable to afford other expenditures such as milk powder and diapers. She was also unable to pay her utility bills and health insurance payments.

The poverty spiral ultimately led her into prostitution as the easiest way for her to raise money.

Considering her situation, Daegu District Court sentenced the mother to three years in prison with five years of probation.
The court said the nation was also responsible for the death, referring to Article 36 of the Constitution that “the State shall endeavor to protect mothers.”

The court also took into account that the baby was in good health at the time of death despite being born a premature infant weighing around 1.87 kilograms (4.12 pounds), concluding the mother tried her best to protect and nurture the baby.

“It is illegitimate for society to criticize the mother harshly just by looking at the result of the crime,” the court said.

BY LEE SU-MIN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]