A teenager who gave birth in a bathroom toilet at her home and left the newborn to die has had her prison term suspended on appeal.
The Suwon High Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judge Shin Hyun-il, on the 14th sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to two years in prison, suspended for three years, on charges of child abuse resulting in death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes. The ruling overturned a lower court decision that had imposed an indeterminate sentence of two years and six months maximum and two years minimum. The court also ordered her to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program.
The appellate court cited as grounds for the reduced sentence that A was a high school student at the time and was emotionally and socially immature.
"When she confirmed the pregnancy, she received no help from her boyfriend and could not tell her family, so she gave birth suddenly without having received proper medical care," the court said.
"It appears she committed the offense because she was unable to respond appropriately amid the psychological shock and anxiety immediately after giving birth," the court said. "There are mitigating circumstances, and the sentence imposed by the lower court is judged to be somewhat excessive."
A was indicted on charges of giving birth in the toilet of the bathroom off the master bedroom at her home in Gyeonggi Province in September 2024, when she was 17, and leaving the baby to die. The baby was found to have been left in the toilet bowl for about an hour.
A's defense argued during the trial that she was in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time. The lower court, however, said it did not appear that her decision-making capacity had been impaired by a mental disorder, and imposed the indeterminate sentence of two years and six months maximum and two years minimum. A's side appealed, arguing the sentence was too harsh, and the appellate court found the lower court's sentence excessive and suspended the prison term.